Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Fukuoka, Japan:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VBG to FUK:
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- About this route
- VBG Airport Information
- FUK Airport Information
- Facts about VBG
- Facts about FUK
- 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 FUK
- List of Nearest Airports to FUK
- Map of Furthest Airports from FUK
- List of Furthest Airports from FUK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Fukuoka Airport (FUK), Fukuoka, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,852 miles (or 9,417 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 Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka Airport. 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: |
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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: | FUK / RJFF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Fukuoka, Japan |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°35'3"N by 130°27'6"E |
Operator/Owner: | Civil Aviation Bureau Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism |
Airport Type: | Military/Public |
Elevation: | 30 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FUK |
More Information: | FUK Maps & Info |
Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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".
- 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.
- 30th Operations Group
Facts about Fukuoka Airport (FUK):
- Fukuoka Airport (FUK) currently has only 1 runway.
- Fukuoka Airport is the fourth busiest passenger airport in Japan.
- When the 38th Bomb Group moved to Itami Airfield, it was replaced by the P-61 Black Widow-equipped 347th Fighter Group that moved from Nagoya Airfield.
- The Japanese Air Force's 6th Fighter Wing replaced the trainers and Mushiroda became an air defense base.
- The furthest airport from Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Fukuoka Airport (meaning Fukuoka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,253 miles (19,719 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
- In the mid-1990s, Delta Air Lines operated a non-stop flight between Fukuoka and its transpacific hub in Portland, Oregon, but later dropped the route due to financial pressure.
- Because of Fukuoka Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Fukuoka 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.
- Mushiroda was built on farmland that once grew bumper rice crops during 1943.
- The first American units moved into the facility in November 1945, when the 38th Bombardment Group stationed B-25 Mitchells on the airfield.
- During the 1950s, the 8th flew the F-86 Sabre for air defense of Japan and South Korea, being upgraded to the new F-100 Super Sabre in 1956.
- The closest airport to Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) SSW of FUK.
- In addition to being known as "Fukuoka Airport", other names for FUK include "福岡空港" and "Fukuoka KūkōItazuke Air Base".
- Fukuoka's first civilian air service was Japan Airlines' Fukuoka-Osaka-Tokyo service, which commenced in 1951.