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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Karluk Airport (KYK), Karluk, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,672 miles (or 5,910 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 Karluk 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 Karluk 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):

• 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 Wallops mobile range instrumentation includes telemetry, radar, command and power systems.
• 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 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.
• AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.
• The NASA Wallops Flight Facility has alliances with a number of organizations important to its mission and future growth.
• Wallops Flight Facility, located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for N.A.S.A.
• In the early years, research at Wallops concentrated on obtaining aerodynamic data at transonic and low supersonic speeds.

Facts about Karluk Airport (KYK):

• Karluk Airport (KYK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Scheduled passenger service was subsidized by the U.S.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 505 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 376 enplanements in 2009, and 397 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Karluk Airport (KYK) is Larsen Bay Airport (KLN), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) E of KYK.
• The furthest airport from Karluk Airport (KYK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,807 miles (17,393 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Because of Karluk Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Karluk 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.