Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAL to SPA:
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- About this route
- WAL Airport Information
- SPA Airport Information
- Facts about WAL
- Facts about SPA
- 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 SPA
- List of Nearest Airports to SPA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPA
- List of Furthest Airports from SPA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA), Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 417 miles (or 671 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial 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: | SPA / KSPA |
| Airport Name: | Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport |
| Location: | Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°54'56"N by 81°57'23"W |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 801 feet (244 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SPA |
| More Information: | SPA Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- 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.
- Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.
- 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.
- AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination 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.
- The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
- 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA):
- The airport is home to the Spartanburg Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol and to the Spartanburg Pilot's Association
- The furthest airport from Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,463 miles (18,449 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) W of SPA.
- During World War II the airport was a training facility for the United States Army Air Corp and a refueling stop for naval aviators.
- Because of Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 801 feet, planes can take off or land at Spartanburg Downtown Memorial 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.
- Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) currently has only 1 runway.
