Nonstop flight route between El Vigía, Venezuela and Spokane, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VIG to SKA:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- VIG Airport Information
- SKA Airport Information
- Facts about VIG
- Facts about SKA
- Map of Nearest Airports to VIG
- List of Nearest Airports to VIG
- Map of Furthest Airports from VIG
- List of Furthest Airports from VIG
- Map of Nearest Airports to SKA
- List of Nearest Airports to SKA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SKA
- List of Furthest Airports from SKA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG), El Vigía, Venezuela and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,799 miles (or 6,113 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 Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport and Fairchild Air Force Base, 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 Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport and Fairchild Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VIG / SVVG |
Airport Name: | Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport |
Location: | El Vigía, Venezuela |
GPS Coordinates: | 8°37'27"N by 71°40'22"W |
Airport Type: | Civil |
Elevation: | 249 feet (76 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VIG |
More Information: | VIG Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SKA / KSKA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Spokane, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°36'54"N by 117°39'20"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SKA |
More Information: | SKA Maps & Info |
Facts about Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG):
- Because of Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport's relatively low elevation of 249 feet, planes can take off or land at Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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 Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) is Tunggul Wulung Airport (CXP), which is nearly antipodal to Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (meaning Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tunggul Wulung Airport), and is located 12,352 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Cilacap, Java Island, Indonesia.
- The closest airport to Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) is Miguel Urdaneta Fernández Airport (STB), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) NW of VIG.
- Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):
- Since 1942, Fairchild Air Force Base/Station has been a key part of the United States' defense strategy—from World War II repair depot, to Strategic Air Command bomber wing during the Cold War, to Air Mobility Command air refueling wing during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
- In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
- Fairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately 12 miles southwest of Spokane, Washington.
- The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
- As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base.
- 7 December 1993 marked the beginning of a significant change in the mission of Fairchild when the B-52s were transferred to another ACC base while the KC-135s, now assigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command would remain.
- The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- On 13 March 1987, a KC-135A crashed into a field adjacent to the 92nd Bomb Wing headquarters and the taxiway during a practice flight for an In-Flight Refueling Demonstration planned for later that month.
- As military operations in Vietnam escalated in the mid-1960s, the demand for air refueling increased.