Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Polokwane, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAL to PTG:
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- About this route
- WAL Airport Information
- PTG Airport Information
- Facts about WAL
- Facts about PTG
- Map of Nearest Airports to WAL
- List of Nearest Airports to WAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WAL
- List of Furthest Airports from WAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to PTG
- List of Nearest Airports to PTG
- Map of Furthest Airports from PTG
- List of Furthest Airports from PTG
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Polokwane International Airport (PTG), Polokwane, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,997 miles (or 12,870 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 Polokwane International 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 Polokwane International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WAL / KWAL |
Airport Name: | Wallops Flight Facility Airport |
Location: | Wallops Island, Virginia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°56'24"N by 75°27'59"W |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from WAL |
More Information: | WAL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PTG / FAPP |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Polokwane, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 23°50'43"S by 29°27'30"E |
Area Served: | Polokwane (Pietersburg), South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4076 feet (1,242 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from PTG |
More Information: | PTG Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
- Early research rockets at Wallops Island
- 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.
- 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.
- Major Wallops facilities include FAA-certified runways.
- 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.
- 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 closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
Facts about Polokwane International Airport (PTG):
- The furthest airport from Polokwane International Airport (PTG) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Polokwane International Airport (meaning Polokwane International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,031 miles (19,362 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- Polokwane International Airport (PTG) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Polokwane International Airport", another name for PTG is "Gateway International Airport".
- The closest airport to Polokwane International Airport (PTG) is Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), which is located 106 miles (171 kilometers) ESE of PTG.
- Because of Polokwane International Airport's high elevation of 4,076 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PTG. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PTG a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.