Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Tianjin, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN), Tianjin, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,050 miles (or 11,346 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 Tianjin Binhai International 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 Tianjin Binhai International Airport. 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):

• The schedule for sounding rocket launches from WFF is posted on its official Web site.
• 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.
• 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.
• Major Wallops facilities include FAA-certified runways.
• 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.
• The Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control center.
• 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.

Facts about Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN):

• In 2008, the airport handled 166,558 tonnes of freight, and became the 11th busiest airport in China.
• The closest airport to Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN) is Tangshan Sannühe Airport (TVS), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) NE of TSN.
• In addition to being known as "Tianjin Binhai International Airport", other names for TSN include "天津滨海国际机场" and "Tiānjīn Bīnhăi Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN) has 2 runways.
• Construction of a new terminal began in 2005 and was fully operating by 2008.
• The airport is also the site of the Airbus A320 final assembly line which started operations in 2008.
• The furthest airport from Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN) is Comandante Espora Airport (BHI), which is nearly antipodal to Tianjin Binhai International Airport (meaning Tianjin Binhai International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Comandante Espora Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
• Tianjin Binhai International Airport handled 8,139,988 passengers last year.
• Because of Tianjin Binhai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Tianjin Binhai International 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.