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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome (AUF), Auxerre, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,879 miles (or 6,243 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 Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome, 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 Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome. 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):

• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.
• The Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control center.

Facts about Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome (AUF):

• Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome (AUF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome (AUF) is Troyes - Barberey Airport (QYR), which is located 41 miles (65 kilometers) NE of AUF.
• In addition to being known as "Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome", another name for AUF is "Aérodrome d'Auxerre - Branches".
• Because of Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 523 feet, planes can take off or land at Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome 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 Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome (AUF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome (meaning Auxerre - Branches Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,158 miles (19,566 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.