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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from VBG to QRA:
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- About this route
- VBG Airport Information
- QRA Airport Information
- Facts about VBG
- Facts about QRA
- 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 QRA
- List of Nearest Airports to QRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from QRA
- List of Furthest Airports from QRA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Rand Airport (QRA), Johannesburg, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,493 miles (or 16,887 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 Rand 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 Rand 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: | QRA / FAGM |
Airport Name: | Rand Airport |
Location: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 26°14'32"S by 28°9'3"E |
Operator/Owner: | Rand Airport Management Company (Pty) Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5482 feet (1,671 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from QRA |
More Information: | QRA Maps & Info |
Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):
- 4th Space Launch Squadron
- Although the construction of Camp Cooke continued well into 1942, troop training did not wait.
- 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.
- 1st Air and Space Test Squadron
- In March 1945, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, and full general in 1947.
- The base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S.
- In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
Facts about Rand Airport (QRA):
- The furthest airport from Rand Airport (QRA) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,977 miles (19,275 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- The recently upgraded fire station.
- Rand Airport is notorious for its hot and high conditions and relatively short runways.
- de Havilland DH 104 Dove and Lockheed L18-08 Lodestar on view at the South African Airways Museum Society at Rand Airport.
- The closest airport to Rand Airport (QRA) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NE of QRA.
- Because of Rand Airport's high elevation of 5,482 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at QRA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make QRA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Rand Airport (QRA) has 2 runways.
- In October 2000, the airport was privatized.