Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Valcartier, Québec, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY), Valcartier, Québec, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,576 miles (or 5,755 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 Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport, 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 Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• 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".
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and 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.
• 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.
• On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.
• 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.

Facts about Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY):

• ASU Valcartier is also home of the Army Cadet Summer Training Centre Valcartier, which trains Royal Canadian Army Cadets of the Eastern Region / Province of Quebec.
• The closest airport to Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY) is Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SE of YOY.
• In addition to being known as "Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport", other names for YOY include "2nd Canadian Division Support Base, Valcartier" and "Base des Forces canadiennes Valcartier".
• Because of Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport's relatively low elevation of 550 feet, planes can take off or land at Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport 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 1968, after unification of the Canadian Forces, the title 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group was assigned to the brigade group established in CFB Valcartier.
• In 1997 a cancer-causing chemical, trichloroethylene, was found in the water supply of CFB Valcartier and the nearby town of Shannon, Quebec.
• The site was also used as an internment camp for "enemy aliens", mainly eastern Europeans.
• The furthest airport from Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,480 miles (18,475 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.