Nonstop flight route between Thorne Bay, Alaska, United States and Wallops Island, Virginia, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from KTB to WAL:
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- About this route
- KTB Airport Information
- WAL Airport Information
- Facts about KTB
- Facts about WAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to KTB
- List of Nearest Airports to KTB
- Map of Furthest Airports from KTB
- List of Furthest Airports from KTB
- Map of Nearest Airports to WAL
- List of Nearest Airports to WAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WAL
- List of Furthest Airports from WAL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB), Thorne Bay, Alaska, United States and Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,864 miles (or 4,609 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 Thorne Bay Seaplane Base 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 Thorne Bay Seaplane Base 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | KTB / |
| Airport Name: | Thorne Bay Seaplane Base |
| Location: | Thorne Bay, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 55°41'17"N by 132°32'12"W |
| Area Served: | Thorne Bay, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Southeast Region |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from KTB |
| More Information: | KTB Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WAL / KWAL |
| Airport Name: | Wallops Flight Facility Airport |
| Location: | Wallops Island, Virginia, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°56'24"N by 75°27'59"W |
| Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from WAL |
| More Information: | WAL Maps & Info |
Facts about Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB):
- The furthest airport from Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,618 miles (17,088 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
- Thorne Bay Seaplane Base has one seaplane landing area designated NW/SE with a water surface measuring 5,000 by 2,000 feet.
- Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Thorne Bay Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Thorne Bay Seaplane 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 closest airport to Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB) is Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base (HYL), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) SSW of KTB.
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- In 1998, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, later joined by Maryland, built the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops on land leased from NASA.
- Major Wallops facilities include FAA-certified runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
- AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.
