Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAL to YCA:
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- About this route
- WAL Airport Information
- YCA Airport Information
- Facts about WAL
- Facts about YCA
- 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 YCA
- List of Nearest Airports to YCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from YCA
- List of Furthest Airports from YCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Courtenay Airpark (YCA), Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,547 miles (or 4,099 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 Courtenay Airpark, 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 Courtenay Airpark. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | YCA / |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada |
| GPS Coordinates: | 49°40'45"N by 124°58'54"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Courtenay, British Columbia |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 9 feet (3 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from YCA |
| More Information: | YCA Maps & Info |
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.
- 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.
- 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 1959, NASA acquired the former Naval Air Station Chincoteague, and engineering and administrative activities were moved to this location.
- The Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control 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.
Facts about Courtenay Airpark (YCA):
- The closest airport to Courtenay Airpark (YCA) is CFB Comox (YQQ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) ENE of YCA.
- In addition to being known as "Courtenay Airpark", another name for YCA is "CAH3".
- The furthest airport from Courtenay Airpark (YCA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,680 miles (17,188 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Courtenay Airpark (YCA) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Courtenay Airpark's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Courtenay Airpark 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.
