Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Richmond, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Richmond Airport (RCM), Richmond, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,367 miles (or 11,855 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 Richmond 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 Richmond 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 Vandenberg retired from the Air Force in June 1953.
• 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.
• 30th Operations Group
• 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 closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
• 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.
• The host unit at Vandenberg AFB is the 30th Space Wing.
• Although the construction of Camp Cooke continued well into 1942, troop training did not wait.

Facts about Richmond Airport (RCM):

• The closest airport to Richmond Airport (RCM) is Hughenden Airport (HGD), which is located 72 miles (116 kilometers) E of RCM.
• The furthest airport from Richmond Airport (RCM) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,629 miles (18,716 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Richmond Airport (RCM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Richmond Airport's relatively low elevation of 676 feet, planes can take off or land at Richmond 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.