Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Île d'Yeu, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Île d'Yeu Aerodrome (IDY), Île d'Yeu, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,646 miles (or 5,868 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 Île d'Yeu Aerodrome, 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 Île d'Yeu Aerodrome. 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 closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Major Wallops facilities include FAA-certified runways.

Facts about Île d'Yeu Aerodrome (IDY):

• In addition to being known as "Île d'Yeu Aerodrome", another name for IDY is "Aérodrome d'Ile d'Yeu - Grand Phare".
• The furthest airport from Île d'Yeu Aerodrome (IDY) is Christchurch International Airport (CHC), which is nearly antipodal to Île d'Yeu Aerodrome (meaning Île d'Yeu Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Christchurch International Airport), and is located 12,104 miles (19,479 kilometers) away in Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Because of Île d'Yeu Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 79 feet, planes can take off or land at Île d'Yeu Aerodrome 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 Île d'Yeu Aerodrome (IDY) is Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NE of IDY.
• Île d'Yeu Aerodrome (IDY) has 2 runways.