Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Tarawa, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Bonriki International Airport (TRW), Tarawa, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,827 miles (or 7,769 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 Bonriki International 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 Bonriki International 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):

• Although the construction of Camp Cooke continued well into 1942, troop training did not wait.
• 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.
• 9th Space Operations Squadron
• 1st Air and Space Test Squadron
• 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.
• Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately 9.2 miles northwest of Lompoc, California.
• Vandenberg Air Force Base is named in honor of the late General Hoyt S.
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
• The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
• 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 Bonriki International Airport (TRW):

• In April 1944, the land-based units moved forward to Kwajalein Airfield in the Marshall Islands, and shortly thereafter, Mullinix was reduced to an emergency airfield.
• Bonriki International Airport (TRW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Fiji's national carrier, Air Pacific, and Kiribati's state-owned airline, Air Kiribati, both connect Kiribati with Nadi, which is Air Pacific's hub and Fiji's main international gateway.
• The closest airport to Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNW of TRW.
• The furthest airport from Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Bonriki International Airport (meaning Bonriki International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,035 miles (19,368 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• The airport is the hub of the only two Kiribati airlines, flag carrier Air Kiribati and the 2009-established Coral Sun Airways, with both airlines mainly flying domestic routes within the Gilbert Islands.
• Because of Bonriki International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Bonriki International 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.
• Bonriki International Airport is an international airport in Kiribati, serving as the main gateway to the country.