Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Lompoc, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAL to VBG:
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- About this route
- WAL Airport Information
- VBG Airport Information
- Facts about WAL
- Facts about VBG
- 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 VBG
- List of Nearest Airports to VBG
- Map of Furthest Airports from VBG
- List of Furthest Airports from VBG
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,496 miles (or 4,016 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base, 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: | VBG / KVBG |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Lompoc, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°43'57"N by 120°34'5"W |
View all routes: | Routes from VBG |
More Information: | VBG Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
- There have been over 16,000 launches from the rocket testing range at Wallops since its founding in 1945 in the quest for information on the flight characteristics of airplanes, launch vehicles, and spacecraft, and to increase the knowledge of the Earth's upper atmosphere and the environment of outer space.
- 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.
- In the early years, research at Wallops concentrated on obtaining aerodynamic data at transonic and low supersonic speeds.
- The WFF Main Base is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia on the Delmarva Peninsula about 5 miles west of Chincoteague, Virginia.
- 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.
- Major Wallops facilities include FAA-certified runways.
Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):
- Vandenberg AFB is a Department of Defense space and missile testing base, with a mission of placing satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast, using expendable boosters.
- 576th Flight Test Squadron
- 1st Air and Space Test Squadron
- The base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S.
- The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
- In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
- The furthest airport from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,479 miles (18,473 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- With the establishment of a separate Air Force in September 1947, Vandenberg became its first vice chief of staff under General Carl Spaatz, and succeeded him on 30 April 1948.
- A maximum security army disciplinary barracks was constructed on post property in 1946.