Nonstop flight route between Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan and Lompoc, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan and Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,688 miles (or 9,154 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 and Vandenberg 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 and Vandenberg Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO):

• At any given time about 350 JSDF personnel are posted to Iwo Jima and though the airfield is strictly for military use, commercial flights carrying Veterans are frequent visitors.
• The furthest airport from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Cabo Frio International Airport (CFB), which is nearly antipodal to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (meaning Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cabo Frio International Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,612 kilometers) away in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Central Field was one of three Japanese airfields built on Iwo Jima.
• The closest airport to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Hachijojima Airport (HAC), which is located 583 miles (938 kilometers) N of IWO.

Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):

• 576th Flight Test Squadron
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
• General Cooke was a cavalry officer whose military career spanned almost half a century, beginning with his graduation from West Point in 1827 to his retirement in 1873.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
• Vandenberg AFB is a Department of Defense space and missile testing base, with a mission of placing satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast, using expendable boosters.
• 1st Air and Space Test Squadron
• A maximum security army disciplinary barracks was constructed on post property in 1946.
• 9th Space Operations Squadron