Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Ambler, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Ambler Airport (ABL), Ambler, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,636 miles (or 5,852 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Ambler 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Ambler 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 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.
• AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.
• 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.
• 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 WFF mobile range assets have been used to support rocket launches from locations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and at sea.
• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.

Facts about Ambler Airport (ABL):

• Because of Ambler Airport's relatively low elevation of 334 feet, planes can take off or land at Ambler 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.
• Ambler Airport covers an area of 272 acres at an elevation of 334 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Ambler Airport (ABL) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,187 miles (16,394 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• Ambler Airport (ABL) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Ambler Airport", another name for ABL is "AFM".
• The closest airport to Ambler Airport (ABL) is Shungnak Airport (SHG), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) SE of ABL.