Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Fairfield, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from QIE to SUU:
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- About this route
- QIE Airport Information
- SUU Airport Information
- Facts about QIE
- Facts about SUU
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to SUU
- List of Nearest Airports to SUU
- Map of Furthest Airports from SUU
- List of Furthest Airports from SUU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU), Fairfield, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,882 miles (or 9,466 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SUU / KSUU |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Fairfield, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°15'46"N by 121°55'38"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SUU |
More Information: | SUU Maps & Info |
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
- Because of Istres-Le Tubé Air Base's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- In addition to being known as "Istres-Le Tubé Air Base", another name for QIE is "Base aérienne 125 Istres (BA 125)Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-17".
- The main USAAF use of Istres was by the 64th Troop Carrier Group, which operated C-47 Skytrain transports from the airfield from September to November 1944.
- With the end of the war, the Americans used Istres as a staging point between Occupied Germany and Morocco for air transport of personnel back to the United States.
- The furthest airport from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (meaning Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,364 miles (19,898 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ESE of QIE.
Facts about Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU):
- Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force air base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command, located three miles east of the central business district of Fairfield, in Solano County, California, United States.
- By the end of World War II, Fairfield-Suisun AAB had become the West Coast's largest aerial port.
- In addition to being known as "Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield", another name for SUU is "Travis AFB".
- The demolition and reconstruction of Runway 21L-03R, as well as the construction of a new C-17 Assault Landing Zone, began on 4 February 2010 with completion expected sometime late in the fall of 2012.
- To provide air defense for the base, United States Army Nike surface-to-air missile sites were constructed during 1957–58.
- Despite its plans, Fourth Air Force never officially occupied the base.
- The furthest airport from Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,315 miles (18,210 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- On 1 January 1966, MATS was redesignated as the Military Airlift Command and on 8 January 1966, the 60th Military Airlift Wing replaced the 1501st as host unit.
- The closest airport to Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU) is Nut Tree Airport (VCB), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNW of SUU.