Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from WAL to SOP:
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- About this route
- WAL Airport Information
- SOP Airport Information
- Facts about WAL
- Facts about SOP
- 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 SOP
- List of Nearest Airports to SOP
- Map of Furthest Airports from SOP
- List of Furthest Airports from SOP
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Moore County Airport (SOP), Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 287 miles (or 462 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 relatively short distance between Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Moore County Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | SOP / KSOP |
Airport Name: | Moore County Airport |
Location: | Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°14'13"N by 79°23'27"W |
Operator/Owner: | Moore County |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 461 feet (141 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SOP |
More Information: | SOP Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- 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 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.
- 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 Main Base is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia on the Delmarva Peninsula about 5 miles west of Chincoteague, Virginia.
- 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 Wallops Visitor Center has a variety of hands-on exhibits and hosts weekly educational activities and programs to enable children to explore and learn about the technologies designed and used by NASA researchers and scientists.
Facts about Moore County Airport (SOP):
- Because of Moore County Airport's relatively low elevation of 461 feet, planes can take off or land at Moore County 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 furthest airport from Moore County Airport (SOP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,608 miles (18,682 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Moore County Airport (SOP) is Mackall Army Airfield (HFF), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SSW of SOP.
- The rift was exacerbated by the Airport Authority's $2 million proposal which was approved by lawmakers, to build several large hangars using taxpayer funds.
- Moore County Airport (SOP) currently has only 1 runway.