Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Homer, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Homer Airport (HOM), Homer, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,536 miles (or 5,691 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 Homer 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 Homer 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):

• In 1998, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, later joined by Maryland, built the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops on land leased from NASA.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.

Facts about Homer Airport (HOM):

• in November 1987 a Beechcraft 1900C operated by Ryan air crashed while arriving from Kodiak, killing all 18 passengers and crew on board.
• Homer Airport (HOM) currently has only 1 runway.
• In October 2013 another Beechcraft 1900C, in this case operated by Era Aviation, experienced a landing gear failure and slid to a stop on its belly.
• Because of Homer Airport's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at Homer 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 furthest airport from Homer Airport (HOM) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,659 miles (17,154 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Homer Airport (HOM) is Seldovia Airport (SOV), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSW of HOM.