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):

• In the early years, research at Wallops concentrated on obtaining aerodynamic data at transonic and low supersonic speeds.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• The Wallops mobile range instrumentation includes telemetry, radar, command and power systems.
• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• The WFF Research Airport is located on the Main Base.
• 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Although the Air Base was constructed in the French Zone of Occupation under French direction, it was built to be used by NATO forces and was, moreover, intended to be an American Air Base from the beginning.
• On 1 January 1957 a fourth squadron, the 19th TRS was transferred from the 47th Bombardment Wing at RAF Sculthorpe to the 66th TRW.
• In 1939, the German Luftwaffe ordered that the area be reserved for use as a fighter base.
• In February 1957, the RB-57s of the 30th TFS at Sembach were also being replaced by the Douglas RB-66 Destroyer.
• 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.
• At Nouasseur all training missions were accomplished as required.