Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Wainwright Airport (AIN), Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,873 miles (or 4,624 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base and Wainwright Airport, 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base and Wainwright Airport. 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base (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.
• 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.
• 21st Space Operations Squadron
• Joint Functional Component Command for Space
• 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.
• 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.
• General Vandenberg was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 24 January 1899.
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".

Facts about Wainwright Airport (AIN):

• The closest airport to Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) E of AIN.
• The airport was built in 1957 to support the Distant Early Warning Line Radar station at Wainwright.
• Wainwright Airport (AIN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The LRR site was inactivated in 2007 due to soil erosion and budget concerns.
• Wainwright Airport resides at elevation of 45 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,348 miles (16,654 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• Because of Wainwright Airport's relatively low elevation of 45 feet, planes can take off or land at Wainwright 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.
• In addition to being known as "Wainwright Airport", another name for AIN is "AWI".