Nonstop flight route between Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China and Wallops Island, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL), Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China and Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,795 miles (or 10,935 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 Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport and Wallops Flight Facility Airport, 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 Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport and Wallops Flight Facility Airport. 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 Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL):

• In addition to being known as "Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport", other names for ERL include "二连浩特赛乌苏国际机场" and "Èrliánhàotè Sàiwūsū Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL) is Hohhot Baita International Airport (HET), which is located 178 miles (287 kilometers) S of ERL.
• The furthest airport from Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL) is Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport (REL), which is nearly antipodal to Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (meaning Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport), and is located 12,304 miles (19,802 kilometers) away in Trelew, Chubut, Argentina.

Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• The furthest airport from Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,785 miles (18,965 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.
• Because of Wallops Flight Facility Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wallops Flight Facility 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.
• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.
• In 1945, NASA's predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, established a rocket launch site on Wallops Island under the direction of the Langley Research Center.
• The NASA Wallops Flight Facility has alliances with a number of organizations important to its mission and future growth.