Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Itami (near Osaka), Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Osaka International Airport (ITM), Itami (near Osaka), Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,575 miles (or 8,972 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 Osaka International 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 Osaka International 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):

• Although the construction of Camp Cooke continued well into 1942, troop training did not wait.
• 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.
• 576th Flight Test Squadron
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
• The wing is organized into operations, launch, mission support and medical groups, along with several directly assigned staff agencies.
• The base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S.

Facts about Osaka International Airport (ITM):

• Construction began in July 1936 on a 53 ha site.
• In addition to being known as "Osaka International Airport", other names for ITM include "Itami International Airport", "大阪国際空港" and "Ōsaka Kokusai Kūkō".
• Osaka International Airport (ITM) has 2 runways.
• The airport is often called Itami Airport because most of its land is located in Itami, Hyōgo Prefecture.
• The furthest airport from Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Osaka International Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Osaka International 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 Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Osaka International Airport (OSA), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of ITM.
• New Kansai International Airport Corporation, which owns both Itami Airport and Kansai Airport, plans to sell operating concessions for both airports during fiscal year 2014 in order to repay Kansai Airport's outstanding debt burden of 1.2 trillion yen.
• In February 1974, the Osaka District Court issued a qualified ruling in favor of the plaintiffs which limited the scope of their damages.
• Jet flights at Itami began on June 1, 1964, and triggered complaints by neighboring residents about noise pollution.