Nonstop flight route between Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States and Wallops Island, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI), Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States and Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 197 miles (or 317 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 Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport and Wallops Flight Facility Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI):

• Because of Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 159 feet, planes can take off or land at Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional 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 Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI) is Triangle North Executive Airport (Franklin County Airport) (LFN), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) WNW of RWI.
• Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• 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.
• 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.
• On September 6, 2013, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer was launched from Wallops, atop a Minotaur V rocket.
• 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.
• 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 Wallops Visitor Center has a variety of hands-on exhibits and hosts weekly educational activities and programs to enable children to explore and learn about the technologies designed and used by NASA researchers and scientists.
• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.