Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VBG to KIE:
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- About this route
- VBG Airport Information
- KIE Airport Information
- Facts about VBG
- Facts about KIE
- 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 KIE
- List of Nearest Airports to KIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from KIE
- List of Furthest Airports from KIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE), Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,112 miles (or 9,836 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 Kieta/Aropa 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 Kieta/Aropa 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: | KIE / AYKT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°18'11"S by 155°43'23"E |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KIE |
More Information: | KIE Maps & Info |
Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (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.
- 30th Operations Group
- 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 its military mission, the base also leases launch pad facilities to SpaceX, as well as 100 acres leased to the California Spaceport in 1995.
- 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.
- 576th Flight Test Squadron
- General Vandenberg was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 24 January 1899.
- The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
Facts about Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE):
- The furthest airport from Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,844 miles (19,061 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
- The original grass airfield was occupied and expanded by the Imperial Japanese in spring 1942.
- In addition to being known as "Kieta/Aropa Airport", another name for KIE is "AYIQ".
- Because of Kieta/Aropa Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kieta/Aropa 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.
- On 13 February 2012, Papua New Guinea Post-Courier reported that the landowners had announced their intention to reopen the airport.
- Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is Balalae Airport (BAS), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of KIE.