Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Sand Point, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAL to SDP:
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- About this route
- WAL Airport Information
- SDP Airport Information
- Facts about WAL
- Facts about SDP
- 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 SDP
- List of Nearest Airports to SDP
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDP
- List of Furthest Airports from SDP
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Sand Point Airport (SDP), Sand Point, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,940 miles (or 6,341 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 Sand Point 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 Sand Point 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: | SDP / PASD |
| Airport Name: | Sand Point Airport |
| Location: | Sand Point, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 55°18'48"N by 160°31'17"W |
| Area Served: | Sand Point, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF - Central Region |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 21 feet (6 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SDP |
| More Information: | SDP Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- 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.
- In 1959, NASA acquired the former Naval Air Station Chincoteague, and engineering and administrative activities were moved to this location.
- 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 1998, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, later joined by Maryland, built the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops on land leased from NASA.
- 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 Sand Point Airport (SDP):
- Sand Point Airport (SDP) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Sand Point Airport (SDP) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,961 miles (17,641 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Sand Point Airport is a state owned, public use airport located two nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Sand Point, a city in the Aleutians East Borough in the U.S.
- Because of Sand Point Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sand Point 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 Sand Point Airport (SDP) is Port Moller Airport (PML), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) N of SDP.
