Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VBG to SMX:
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- About this route
- VBG Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about VBG
- Facts about SMX
- 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 SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 13 miles (or 21 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 relatively short distance between Vandenberg Air Force Base and Santa Maria Public Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VBG / KVBG |
| Airport Names: |
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| 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: | SMX / KSMX |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
| Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
| Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
| More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
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.
- As the war progressed, German and Italian prisoners of war were quartered at Camp Cooke.
- Joint Functional Component Command for Space
- 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".
- Construction of the Army camp began in September 1941.
- 576th Flight Test Squadron
- 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.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
- The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- The extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).
- During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
- Allegiant Air has expanded flights between Las Vegas and Santa Maria with four nonstops per week each way.
