Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Decatur, Illinois, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAL to DEC:
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- About this route
- WAL Airport Information
- DEC Airport Information
- Facts about WAL
- Facts about DEC
- Map of Nearest Airports to WAL
- List of Nearest Airports to WAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WAL
- List of Furthest Airports from WAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to DEC
- List of Nearest Airports to DEC
- Map of Furthest Airports from DEC
- List of Furthest Airports from DEC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Decatur Airport (DEC), Decatur, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 732 miles (or 1,178 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 Decatur Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WAL / KWAL |
| Airport Name: | Wallops Flight Facility Airport |
| Location: | Wallops Island, Virginia, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°56'24"N by 75°27'59"W |
| Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from WAL |
| More Information: | WAL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | DEC / KDEC |
| Airport Name: | Decatur Airport |
| Location: | Decatur, Illinois, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 39°50'3"N by 88°51'56"W |
| Area Served: | Decatur, Illinois |
| Operator/Owner: | Decatur Park District |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 682 feet (208 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DEC |
| More Information: | DEC Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- For many years WFF was home to the NSIP Sub-SEM and SEM projects.
- 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 Decatur Airport (DEC):
- Decatur Airport (DEC) has 3 runways.
- Because of Decatur Airport's relatively low elevation of 682 feet, planes can take off or land at Decatur 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.
- The closest airport to Decatur Airport (DEC) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) ENE of DEC.
- The Illinois Army National Guard has an Army Aviation Support Facility at the airport.
- Decatur Airport is a public airport five miles east of Decatur, in Macon County, Illinois.
- The furthest airport from Decatur Airport (DEC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,056 miles (17,793 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
