Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Lompoc, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,492 miles (or 5,620 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 Mercedita Airport 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 Mercedita Airport 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 Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• In 1949, however, it was determined that the runway of the Ponce Airport at the nearby Losey Field no longer met the newer and more stringent minimum airport safety requirements, and airport operations were suspended.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• The Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mercedita Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Mercedita 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 closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• After Ponce's mayor Rafael Cordero signed a contract to build a major seaport in the area, Mercedita's directors decided to expand the airport's runway to 8,000 ft to accommodate anticipated growth in airline traffic.
• Federal Express and DHL operate out of this airport for the distribution of surface freight.
• The furthest airport from Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Mercedita Airport (meaning Mercedita Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,201 miles (19,636 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (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.
• In 1941 the United States Army sought more and better training centers for the rapid development of its armored and infantry forces.
• The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
• General Vandenberg was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 24 January 1899.
• Joint Functional Component Command for Space
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".