Nonstop flight route between Duxford, England, United Kingdom and Lompoc, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Duxford Aerodrome (QFO), Duxford, England, United Kingdom and Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,455 miles (or 8,778 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 Duxford Aerodrome 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 Duxford Aerodrome 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 Duxford Aerodrome (QFO):

• The furthest airport from Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,843 miles (19,060 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The air echelon moved to Oujda, French Morocco during January–February 1943.
• On 3 September 1939 Britain declared war on Germany and Duxford was ready to play a vital role.
• In addition to being known as "Duxford Aerodrome", other names for QFO include "Royal Air Force Station Duxford" and "USAAF Station 357".
• The 78th Fighter Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for activities connected with Operation Market-Garden, the airborne attack on the Netherlands, in September 1944 when the group covered troop carrier and bombardment operations and carried out strafing and dive-bombing missions.
• Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) has 2 runways.
• Because of Duxford Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Duxford Aerodrome 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.
• Duxford was the initial home of the 5th Air Defense Wing which arrived from Norfolk Municipal Airport, Virginia on 3 July 1943.
• Duxford airfield dates to 1918 when many of the buildings were constructed by German prisoner-of-war labour.
• The closest airport to Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of QFO.

Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):

• 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.
• Joint Functional Component Command for Space
• 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".
• 9th Space Operations Squadron
• In September 2000, veterans of the 40th Infantry Division gathered an Vandenberg Air Force Base to dedicate its Korean War Memorial.