Nonstop flight route between Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia and Wallops Island, Virginia, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RTS to WAL:
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- About this route
- RTS Airport Information
- WAL Airport Information
- Facts about RTS
- Facts about WAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to RTS
- List of Nearest Airports to RTS
- Map of Furthest Airports from RTS
- List of Furthest Airports from RTS
- Map of Nearest Airports to WAL
- List of Nearest Airports to WAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WAL
- List of Furthest Airports from WAL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Rottnest Airport (RTS), Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia and Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,692 miles (or 18,816 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 Rottnest Airport and Wallops Flight Facility 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 Rottnest Airport and Wallops Flight Facility Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RTS / YRTI |
Airport Name: | Rottnest Airport |
Location: | Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°0'24"S by 115°32'22"E |
Operator/Owner: | Rottnest Island Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 12 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RTS |
More Information: | RTS Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Rottnest Airport (RTS):
- Woods Airways VH-WAB, c.1953
- The closest airport to Rottnest Airport (RTS) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) ESE of RTS.
- Because of Rottnest Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Rottnest 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.
- The furthest airport from Rottnest Airport (RTS) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Rottnest Airport (meaning Rottnest Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,970 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.
- Woods Airways which was run by pioneer aviator Jimmy Woods, operated the Perth to Rottnest service from about 1948 with two war-surplus Royal Australian Air Force Avro Anson aircraft.
- At one stage, the 32 km Perth to Rottnest flight was the world's shortest scheduled air route.
- MacRobertson Miller Airlines took over services after Wood's Airways using both DC-3 and Fokker F27 Friendship, until the route became uneconomical.
- Woods Airways and its owner were considered synonymous with the airport and in 1987 State Tourism Minister Pam Beggs opened the renamed and upgraded Jimmy Woods Air Terminal in recognition.
- Rottnest Island Airport is a small airport for light aircraft, situated about 800 m from the main settlement at Thomson Bay, Rottnest Island and 10 nautical miles northwest of Fremantle.
- Rottnest Airport (RTS) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):
- 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.
- The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
- In 1998, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, later joined by Maryland, built the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops on land leased from NASA.
- 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.
- Wallops Flight Facility, located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for N.A.S.A.
- In 1959, NASA acquired the former Naval Air Station Chincoteague, and engineering and administrative activities were moved to this location.
- The Wallops Flight Facility also supports science missions for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and occasionally for foreign governments and commercial organizations.
- 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.