Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Leiden, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID), Leiden, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,578 miles (or 8,978 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 Valkenburg Naval Air Base, 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 Valkenburg Naval Air Base. 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):

• 9th Space Operations Squadron
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
• As the war progressed, German and Italian prisoners of war were quartered at Camp Cooke.
• The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
• 21st Space Operations Squadron
• 30th Operations Group
• 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.
• 576th Flight Test Squadron

Facts about Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID):

• Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) has 2 runways.
• Because of Valkenburg Naval Air Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Valkenburg Naval Air Base 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 "Valkenburg Naval Air Base", another name for LID is "Vliegkamp Valkenburg".
• The furthest airport from Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) is Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM), which is located only 15 miles (23 kilometers) S of LID.
• In March of 2014 Valkenburg was used as the home base for both police and military helicopters providing security during the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.