Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE), Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,785 miles (or 4,482 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 José Joaquín de Olmedo International 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 José Joaquín de Olmedo International 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):

• The schedule for sounding rocket launches from WFF is posted on its official Web site.
• 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 WFF Main Base is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia on the Delmarva Peninsula about 5 miles west of Chincoteague, Virginia.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• On September 6, 2013, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer was launched from Wallops, atop a Minotaur V rocket.
• 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 WFF mobile range assets have been used to support rocket launches from locations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and at sea.

Facts about José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE):

• The furthest airport from José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) is Aek Godang Airport (AEG), which is nearly antipodal to José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (meaning José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aek Godang Airport), and is located 12,366 miles (19,901 kilometers) away in Padang Sidempuan, Indonesia.
• José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) currently has only 1 runway.
• José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport was named "Best Airport in Latin America 2008 & 2009" by BusinessWeek and the second best in 2011.
• The closest airport to José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) is General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) W of GYE.
• Because of José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at José Joaquín de Olmedo International 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 airport, which had the newest terminal in Ecuador, was renamed after José Joaquín de Olmedo in 2006, in preparation for the inauguration of the new 50,000 m2 national and international terminal on 27 July 2006.
• In addition to being known as "José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport", another name for GYE is "Aeropuerto Internacional José Joaquín de Olmedo".