Nonstop flight route between West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Wallops Island, Virginia, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LAF to WAL:
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- About this route
- LAF Airport Information
- WAL Airport Information
- Facts about LAF
- Facts about WAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to LAF
- List of Nearest Airports to LAF
- Map of Furthest Airports from LAF
- List of Furthest Airports from LAF
- 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 Purdue University Airport (LAF), West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 637 miles (or 1,025 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 relatively short distance between Purdue University Airport and Wallops Flight Facility Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LAF / KLAF |
Airport Name: | Purdue University Airport |
Location: | West Lafayette, Indiana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°24'43"N by 86°56'12"W |
Area Served: | Lafayette, Indiana |
Operator/Owner: | Purdue University |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 606 feet (185 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LAF |
More Information: | LAF 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 Purdue University Airport (LAF):
- Evergreen International maintained a short-lived cargo operation at the Airport in the late 1970s using Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop aircraft.
- Purdue University Airport has an FAA-staffed air traffic control tower and is the second busiest tower in Indiana.
- The closest airport to Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Kentland Municipal Airport (KKT), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NW of LAF.
- Because of Purdue University Airport's relatively low elevation of 606 feet, planes can take off or land at Purdue University 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.
- Runway 23 has a displaced threshold, which shortens the runway to 3,913 ft for landing operations.
- The furthest airport from Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,148 miles (17,941 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Purdue University Airport (LAF) has 2 runways.
- Runway 10 has a Category 1 ILS approach.
- The original hangar, now referred to as the Niswonger Hall of Aviation Technology, still stands and is used by Purdue University's department of Aviation Technology for offices, classrooms, and laboratories.
- As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 1,959 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,518 enplanements in 2009, and 1,405 in 2010.
- Purdue University Airport was the first university-owned airport in the United States.
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- In the early years, research at Wallops concentrated on obtaining aerodynamic data at transonic and low supersonic speeds.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.