Nonstop flight route between Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom and Wallops Island, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bristol Filton Airport (FZO), Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom and Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,542 miles (or 5,700 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 Bristol Filton 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 Bristol Filton 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 Bristol Filton Airport (FZO):

• In 1948, 501 Squadron was equipped with De Havilland Vampire jets.
• The closest airport to Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Bristol Airport (BRS), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSW of FZO.
• Because of Bristol Filton Airport's relatively low elevation of 225 feet, planes can take off or land at Bristol Filton 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.
• In the early 1960s, a new Filton bypass was constructed, roughly parallel to the old one, and this later became part of the M5 motorway.
• Companies within the boundary of the aerodrome are BAE Systems, Airbus, MBDA and Rolls-Royce, as well as a number of aircraft maintenance companies, flying schools and the South West of England Royal Mail letter sorting depot.
• The re-armament programme from 1935 to the outbreak of WWII saw further expansion of the Bristol Aeroplane Company.
• The furthest airport from Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,930 miles (19,200 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Bristol Filton Airport", another name for FZO is "Filton Aerodrome".
• During World War I, RFC Filton was mainly used as an aircraft acceptance facility.
• The length of the runway and its closed-to-passengers status made it an ideal dispersion site for the nation's airborne nuclear deterrent during the Cold War.
• Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• 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 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.
• On September 6, 2013, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer was launched from Wallops, atop a Minotaur V rocket.
• 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 Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control center.
• The Wallops mobile range instrumentation includes telemetry, radar, command and power systems.
• In the early years, research at Wallops concentrated on obtaining aerodynamic data at transonic and low supersonic speeds.