Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Bournemouth, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Bournemouth Airport (BOH), Bournemouth, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,587 miles (or 5,772 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 Bournemouth 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 Bournemouth 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):

• On September 6, 2013, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer was launched from Wallops, atop a Minotaur V rocket.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• The Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control 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.
• AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.
• 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.
• The schedule for sounding rocket launches from WFF is posted on its official Web site.

Facts about Bournemouth Airport (BOH):

• The furthest airport from Bournemouth Airport (BOH) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,941 miles (19,218 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In December 2009 bmibaby announced a new summer route to Jersey.
• The closest airport to Bournemouth Airport (BOH) is Southampton Airport (SOU), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) ENE of BOH.
• Because of Bournemouth Airport's relatively low elevation of 38 feet, planes can take off or land at Bournemouth 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.
• Vickers-Armstrongs took over some ex-BOAC hangars at Hurn in 1951 and started production of Varsities, then Viscounts and eventually, as the British Aircraft Corporation, the BAC One-Eleven.
• In 1996, a new extension to the main runway was officially opened by the arrival of Concorde.
• Bournemouth Airport (BOH) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2007, Ryanair began to rapidly increase the number of services from the airport, initially starting routes to Marseille, Alicante, and Milan which brought the total to eight.
• Bournemouth Airport handled 660,272 passengers last year.
• The new arrivals hall was completed on time and budget in July 2011.
• Bournemouth Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
• In 1969 the airport was purchased jointly by the Bournemouth Corporation and Dorset County Council and renamed as "Bournemouth Airport".