Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VBG to BEX:
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- About this route
- VBG Airport Information
- BEX Airport Information
- Facts about VBG
- Facts about BEX
- Map of Nearest Airports to VBG
- List of Nearest Airports to VBG
- Map of Furthest Airports from VBG
- List of Furthest Airports from VBG
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEX
- List of Nearest Airports to BEX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEX
- List of Furthest Airports from BEX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,439 miles (or 8,754 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 RAF Benson, 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 RAF Benson. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VBG / KVBG |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Lompoc, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°43'57"N by 120°34'5"W |
View all routes: | Routes from VBG |
More Information: | VBG Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BEX / EGUB |
Airport Name: | RAF Benson |
Location: | Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'59"N by 1°5'44"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from BEX |
More Information: | BEX Maps & Info |
Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):
- 576th Flight Test Squadron
- Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately 9.2 miles northwest of Lompoc, California.
- In 1941 the United States Army sought more and better training centers for the rapid development of its armored and infantry forces.
- 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.
- 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.
- General Vandenberg retired from the Air Force in June 1953.
- The host unit at Vandenberg AFB is the 30th Space Wing.
- In addition to its military mission, the base also leases launch pad facilities to SpaceX, as well as 100 acres leased to the California Spaceport in 1995.
- The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
- In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
- Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England.
- The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- The station is today the home to four squadrons of Support Helicopters, 28 Squadron, 78 Squadron with Merlin helicopters and 33 Squadron and 230 Squadron with Puma helicopters.
- The King's Flight moved from RAF Hendon and would stay until after the war, moving to RAF Northolt in 1995.
- Its Supermarine Spitfire and de Havilland Mosquito aircraft flew missions over occupied Europe, for example bringing back battle damage assessment pictures after Operation Chastise.