Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Accra, Ghana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station (ACC), Accra, Ghana would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,180 miles (or 8,337 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 Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station, 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 Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station. 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):

• Wallops Flight Facility, located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for N.A.S.A.
• There have been over 16,000 launches from the rocket testing range at Wallops since its founding in 1945 in the quest for information on the flight characteristics of airplanes, launch vehicles, and spacecraft, and to increase the knowledge of the Earth's upper atmosphere and the environment of outer space.
• 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 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 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 schedule for sounding rocket launches from WFF is posted on its official Web site.
• 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.

Facts about Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station (ACC):

• Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, is the country's premier international airport and has the capacity for large aircraft such as the Boeing 747-8.
• Because of Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station's relatively low elevation of 205 feet, planes can take off or land at Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station 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.
• Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station (ACC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station handled 2,269,451 passengers last year.
• The airport consists of two passenger terminals, labelled as Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
• The furthest airport from Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station (ACC) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station (meaning Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,230 miles (19,683 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• The closest airport to Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station (ACC) is Lomé–Tokoin Airport (LFW), which is located 105 miles (169 kilometers) ENE of ACC.