Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,416 miles (or 8,717 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 Lyneham, 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 Lyneham. 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):

• 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 Cooke was a cavalry officer whose military career spanned almost half a century, beginning with his graduation from West Point in 1827 to his retirement in 1873.
• 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.
• 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".
• 4th Space Launch 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.
• Besides the 5th Division, the 6th, 11th, 13th, and 20th Armored Divisions as well as the 86th and 97th Infantry Divisions, and the 2d Filipino Infantry Regiment were all stationed at Cooke at varying times during the war.

Facts about RAF Lyneham (LYE):

• The station closed on 31 December 2012 with the majority of its personnel and other assets having moved to RAF Brize Norton.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lyneham (LYE) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,913 miles (19,172 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
• Because of RAF Lyneham's relatively low elevation of 512 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Lyneham 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.
• RAF Lyneham received the first of 25 brand-new Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules on 23 November 1999, to be operated by Nos.
• A parade attended by the Princess Royal was held on 31 May 2011, to mark the departure of Nos.
• With the increase in air transport operations in the RAF, as opposed to ferrying, Transport Command was formed in March 1943.
• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.