Nonstop flight route between Fukuoka, Japan and Wallops Island, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fukuoka Airport (FUK), Fukuoka, Japan and Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,222 miles (or 11,623 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 Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka Airport (FUK):

• Itazuke played a key role in the Korean War and the defense of the Pusan perimeter in 1950.
• Mushiroda was built on farmland that once grew bumper rice crops during 1943.
• In addition to being known as "Fukuoka Airport", other names for FUK include "福岡空港" and "Fukuoka KūkōItazuke Air Base".
• The closest airport to Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) SSW of FUK.
• Fukuoka Airport (FUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• By early 1949, reconstruction of Itazuke was complete along the construction of long jet runways.
• The furthest airport from Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Fukuoka Airport (meaning Fukuoka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,253 miles (19,719 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In the mid-1990s, Delta Air Lines operated a non-stop flight between Fukuoka and its transpacific hub in Portland, Oregon, but later dropped the route due to financial pressure.
• Because of Fukuoka Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Fukuoka 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.

Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• The WFF Main Base is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia on the Delmarva Peninsula about 5 miles west of Chincoteague, Virginia.
• LCT2 is an effort to produce a relatively low-cost transceiver to allow launch vehicles to communicate through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System after they have gone over the horizon from the launch site.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• Since 2001, engineers at NASA Wallops Flight Facility have been developing new range technologies, systems and approaches to improve the cost and responsiveness of launch and flight test activities, within the constraints of available funding and program schedules.
• Early research rockets at Wallops Island
• 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.
• 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.
• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.