Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Sembach, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), Sembach, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,020 miles (or 6,470 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base, 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base. 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):

• 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.
• The NASA Wallops Flight Facility has alliances with a number of organizations important to its mission and future growth.
• 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.
• AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.
• 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 first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• The WFF mobile range assets have been used to support rocket launches from locations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and at sea.
• The Wallops Flight Facility also supports science missions for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and occasionally for foreign governments and commercial organizations.
• 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX):

• Sembach's origins date back to 1919 after World War I when French occupation troops used the eastern half of the present flightline as an airfield.
• Despite these efforts, the land was successfully surveyed in August 1952.
• After the departure of the 66th, Sembach was taken over by the 7127th Support Group in June 1958 as a 'placeholder' unit.
• In 1950, as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, the United States was rapidly expanding its air forces, announcing an increase in the number of combat wings from 48 in 1950 to 95 by June 1952.
• With this announcement, and everyone being satisfied, Sembach became a center of activity once more, and construction of the administrative area of the base began in October 1952.
• In February 1957, the RB-57s of the 30th TFS at Sembach were also being replaced by the Douglas RB-66 Destroyer.
• The furthest airport from Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• During the Cold War, Sembach Air Base housed a variety of USAF Tactical Reconnaissance, Close Air Support and Tactical Air Control units as a front line NATO air base.
• The closest airport to Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Ramstein Air Base (RMS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of SEX.