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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,682 miles (or 9,144 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 Maastricht Aachen 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 Maastricht Aachen 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):

• 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 being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
• Construction of the Army camp began in September 1941.
• 9th Space Operations Squadron
• The base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S.
• Vandenberg AFB is a Department of Defense space and missile testing base, with a mission of placing satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast, using expendable boosters.
• The host unit at Vandenberg AFB is the 30th Space Wing.
• In September 2000, veterans of the 40th Infantry Division gathered an Vandenberg Air Force Base to dedicate its Korean War Memorial.
• 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.
• The wing is organized into operations, launch, mission support and medical groups, along with several directly assigned staff agencies.

Facts about Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST):

• In 1992 the Belgian town of Tongeren became shareholder of the airport.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport handled 36,300 passengers last year.
• Around 1980 the airport changed its name to "Maastricht Airport".
• Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) currently has only 1 runway.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport is a regional airport in Beek, Netherlands, located 5 NM northeast of Maastricht and 15 NM northwest of Aachen, Germany.
• Because of Maastricht Aachen Airport's relatively low elevation of 375 feet, planes can take off or land at Maastricht Aachen 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.
• A promotion campaign by the Dutch tourist board for the nearby town of Valkenburg aan de Geul, aimed at British tourists, was highly successful and brought services by Invicta Airlines, Britannia and Channel Airways.
• The closest airport to Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ENE of MST.
• Because of the proximity to the new headquarters, the decision was made to create a temporary airfield between the towns of Beek, Geulle and Ulestraten.
• The furthest airport from Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,935 miles (19,207 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.