Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VBG to MSL:
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- About this route
- VBG Airport Information
- MSL Airport Information
- Facts about VBG
- Facts about MSL
- Map of Nearest Airports to VBG
- List of Nearest Airports to VBG
- Map of Furthest Airports from VBG
- List of Furthest Airports from VBG
- Map of Nearest Airports to MSL
- List of Nearest Airports to MSL
- Map of Furthest Airports from MSL
- List of Furthest Airports from MSL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,863 miles (or 2,998 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base and Northwest Alabama Regional Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MSL / KMSL |
Airport Name: | Northwest Alabama Regional Airport |
Location: | Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°44'43"N by 87°36'37"W |
Area Served: | Muscle Shoals, Alabama |
Operator/Owner: | Colbert & Lauderdale Counties |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 551 feet (168 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MSL |
More Information: | MSL Maps & Info |
Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):
- 4th Space Launch Squadron
- Joint Functional Component Command for Space
- From August 1950 to February 1953, Camp Cooke served as a training installation for units slated for combat in Korea, and as a summer training base for many other reserve units.
- The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
Facts about Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL):
- The furthest airport from Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,143 miles (17,932 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Historically, Muscle Shoals was served by Southern Airways which operated Douglas DC-9-10 and DC-9-30 jetliners on nonstop and direct flights to Atlanta.
- Pilot training at the airfield apparently ended on May 30, 1944, with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
- Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of MSL.
- Because of Northwest Alabama Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 551 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Alabama Regional 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 airport was opened in February 1940, however in 1942 it was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces as a World War II pilot training military airfield.