Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Minsk, Belarus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Minsk-1 Airport (MHP), Minsk, Belarus would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,624 miles (or 7,442 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 Minsk-1 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 Minsk-1 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 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.
• 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.
• The schedule for sounding rocket launches from WFF is posted on its official Web site.
• In the early years, research at Wallops concentrated on obtaining aerodynamic data at transonic and low supersonic speeds.
• 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 WFF Research Airport is located on the Main Base.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• 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.

Facts about Minsk-1 Airport (MHP):

• Minsk-1 Airport (MHP) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Minsk-1 Airport", other names for MHP include "Аэрапорт Мінск-1" and "Аэропорт Минск-1".
• Because of Minsk-1 Airport's relatively low elevation of 748 feet, planes can take off or land at Minsk-1 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 February 2006 a decision was made to transfer a Minsk aircraft repair plant situated on the Minsk-1 territory out of the city line.
• Flights to Moscow-Vnukovo were served from the airport until 26 October 2012.
• The furthest airport from Minsk-1 Airport (MHP) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,153 miles (17,949 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Minsk-1 Airport is an airport located within the city limits of Minsk, Belarus, just a few kilometres south from the centre.
• The closest airport to Minsk-1 Airport (MHP) is Minsk National Airport (MSQ), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of MHP.