Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Westsound, Orcas Island, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAL to WSX:
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- About this route
- WAL Airport Information
- WSX Airport Information
- Facts about WAL
- Facts about WSX
- 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 WSX
- List of Nearest Airports to WSX
- Map of Furthest Airports from WSX
- List of Furthest Airports from WSX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX), Westsound, Orcas Island, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,456 miles (or 3,953 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 Westsound Seaplane 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: | WSX / |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Westsound, Orcas Island, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 48°37'5"N by 122°57'24"W |
Area Served: | West Sound, Washington |
Operator/Owner: | Westsound Marina |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WSX |
More Information: | WSX Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
Facts about Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX):
- Because of Westsound Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Westsound Seaplane Base 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 closest airport to Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX) is Rosario Seaplane Base (RSJ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) ENE of WSX.
- The furthest airport from Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,718 miles (17,249 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Westsound Seaplane Base", another name for WSX is "WA83".