Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Ofu, American Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Ofu Airport (OFU), Ofu, American Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,043 miles (or 11,334 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 Ofu 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 Ofu 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):

• Early research rockets at Wallops Island
• 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.
• In the early years, research at Wallops concentrated on obtaining aerodynamic data at transonic and low supersonic speeds.
• LCT2 is an effort to produce a relatively low-cost transceiver to allow launch vehicles to communicate through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System after they have gone over the horizon from the launch site.
• Major Wallops facilities include FAA-certified runways.
• 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.

Facts about Ofu Airport (OFU):

• Ofu Airport (OFU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ofu Airport (OFU) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Ofu Airport (meaning Ofu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,342 miles (19,863 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• Because of Ofu Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Ofu 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 closest airport to Ofu Airport (OFU) is Tau Airport (TAV), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ESE of OFU.
• In addition to being known as "Ofu Airport", other names for OFU include "NSAS" and "Z08".