Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and United States Air Force Academy (AFF), Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,585 miles (or 2,551 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and United States Air Force Academy, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1959, NASA acquired the former Naval Air Station Chincoteague, and engineering and administrative activities were moved to this location.

Facts about United States Air Force Academy (AFF):

• The most controversial aspect of the SOM-designed Air Force Academy was its chapel.
• Prior to the Academy's establishment, air power advocates had been pushing for a separate air force academy for decades.
• The furthest airport from United States Air Force Academy (AFF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,934 miles (17,596 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Many of the women from those early classes went on to achieve success within the Cadet Wing and after graduation.
• The campus of the Academy covers 18,500 acres on the east side of the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains, just north of Colorado Springs.
• The buildings in the Cadet Area were designed in a distinct, modernist style, and make extensive use of aluminum on building exteriors, suggesting the outer skin of aircraft or spacecraft.
• The closest airport to United States Air Force Academy (AFF) is City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of AFF.
• The effects of the anti-war movement were felt at the Academy as well.
• The United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School is a program offered to selected individuals who were not able to obtain appointments directly to the Academy.