Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Mmabatho, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from VBG to MBD:
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- About this route
- VBG Airport Information
- MBD Airport Information
- Facts about VBG
- Facts about MBD
- 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 MBD
- List of Nearest Airports to MBD
- Map of Furthest Airports from MBD
- List of Furthest Airports from MBD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,334 miles (or 16,631 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 Mafikeng 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 Mafikeng 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: |
|
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: | MBD / FAMM |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Mmabatho, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 25°48'27"S by 25°32'39"E |
Area Served: | Mafikeng, South Africa |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4181 feet (1,274 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MBD |
More Information: | MBD Maps & Info |
Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):
- As the war progressed, German and Italian prisoners of war were quartered at Camp Cooke.
- General Vandenberg retired from the Air Force in June 1953.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
- 30th Operations Group
- General Vandenberg was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 24 January 1899.
- 9th Space Operations Squadron
Facts about Mafikeng Airport (MBD):
- The closest airport to Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNE of MBD.
- In addition to being known as "Mafikeng Airport", another name for MBD is "Mmabatho Airport".
- Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is nearly antipodal to Mafikeng Airport (meaning Mafikeng Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kalaupapa Airport), and is located 12,081 miles (19,443 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- Because of Mafikeng Airport's high elevation of 4,181 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MBD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MBD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.