Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Merville / Calonne, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Merville - Calonne Airport (HZB), Merville / Calonne, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,777 miles (or 6,078 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 Merville - Calonne 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 Merville - Calonne 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 first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.
• 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.
• 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.
• On September 6, 2013, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer was launched from Wallops, atop a Minotaur V rocket.
• 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.

Facts about Merville - Calonne Airport (HZB):

• Originally built by Germans as a Luftwaffe airfield as part of the defensed of the Pas de Calais area.
• The airfield is controlled and has an Automatic Terminal Information Service.
• The furthest airport from Merville - Calonne Airport (HZB) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,965 miles (19,255 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Merville - Calonne Airport (HZB) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Merville - Calonne Airport (HZB) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of HZB.
• Because of Merville - Calonne Airport's relatively low elevation of 61 feet, planes can take off or land at Merville - Calonne 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 addition to being known as "Merville - Calonne Airport", other names for HZB include "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) B-53" and "Aéroport de Merville - Calonne".