Nonstop flight route between Fairfield, Iowa, United States and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFL to QIE:
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- About this route
- FFL Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about FFL
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFL
- List of Nearest Airports to FFL
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFL
- List of Furthest Airports from FFL
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Fairfield Municipal Airport (FFL), Fairfield, Iowa, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,648 miles (or 7,480 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 Fairfield Municipal Airport and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, 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 Fairfield Municipal Airport and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFL / KFFL |
Airport Name: | Fairfield Municipal Airport |
Location: | Fairfield, Iowa, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°3'20"N by 91°58'50"W |
Area Served: | Fairfield, Iowa |
Operator/Owner: | City of Fairfield |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 799 feet (244 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from FFL |
More Information: | FFL Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Fairfield Municipal Airport (FFL):
- Because of Fairfield Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 799 feet, planes can take off or land at Fairfield Municipal Airport 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.
- Fairfield Municipal Airport (FFL) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Fairfield Municipal Airport (FFL) is Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) W of FFL.
- A former USAF F-84F Thunderstreak is on static display near the airport terminal.
- The furthest airport from Fairfield Municipal Airport (FFL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,880 miles (17,510 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- 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.
- 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 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.
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Built prior to World War II, Istres Air Base was first used by the Armée de l'air during the early part of the war, and after the 1940 Battle of France and the June Armistice with Nazi Germany, became part of the limited air force of the Vichy Government.
- 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.
- Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
- 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".