Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Mount Hagen Airport (HGU), Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,101 miles (or 14,647 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 Mount Hagen 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 Mount Hagen 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 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 mobile range instrumentation includes telemetry, radar, command and power systems.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• 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.
• 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.
• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.
• LCT2 is an effort to produce a relatively low-cost transceiver to allow launch vehicles to communicate through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System after they have gone over the horizon from the launch site.
• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.

Facts about Mount Hagen Airport (HGU):

• The furthest airport from Mount Hagen Airport (HGU) is Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), which is located 11,745 miles (18,902 kilometers) away in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Mount Hagen Airport (HGU) is Chimbu Airport (CMU), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) ESE of HGU.
• Mount Hagen Airport (HGU) has 2 runways.
• Because of Mount Hagen Airport's high elevation of 5,388 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HGU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HGU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.