Nonstop flight route between Valence, France and Wallops Island, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France and Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,021 miles (or 6,472 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 Valence - Chabeuil 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 Valence - Chabeuil 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 Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):

• In addition to being known as "Valence - Chabeuil Airport", other names for VAF include "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-23" and "Aéroport de Valence - Chabeuil".
• The furthest airport from Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (meaning Valence - Chabeuil Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,333 miles (19,848 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
• After the forceful occupation of Vichy France in November 1942 as a result of Case Anton Wehrmacht units moved into the Valence area and the airport came under the control of the Luftwaffe.
• Twelfth Air Force combat engineers moved into Valence-Chabeuil Airport in late August 1944, and cleared the airport of mines and destroyed German aircraft.
• Because of Valence - Chabeuil Airport's relatively low elevation of 525 feet, planes can take off or land at Valence - Chabeuil 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.
• Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.

Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of 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.
• 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.
• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• 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.