Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Butterworth, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VBG to UTE:
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- About this route
- VBG Airport Information
- UTE Airport Information
- Facts about VBG
- Facts about UTE
- 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 UTE
- List of Nearest Airports to UTE
- Map of Furthest Airports from UTE
- List of Furthest Airports from UTE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and RMAF Butterworth (UTE), Butterworth, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,588 miles (or 13,821 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 RMAF Butterworth, 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 RMAF Butterworth. 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: |
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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: | UTE / FABU |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Butterworth, South Africa |
| GPS Coordinates: | 5°27'57"N by 100°23'27"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence (Malaysia) |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 8 feet (2 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from UTE |
| More Information: | UTE Maps & Info |
Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):
- Construction of the Army camp began in September 1941.
- 4th Space Launch Squadron
- Besides the 5th Division, the 6th, 11th, 13th, and 20th Armored Divisions as well as the 86th and 97th Infantry Divisions, and the 2d Filipino Infantry Regiment were all stationed at Cooke at varying times during the war.
- In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
- In March 1945, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, and full general in 1947.
- 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 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.
- 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 its military mission, the base also leases launch pad facilities to SpaceX, as well as 100 acres leased to the California Spaceport in 1995.
- The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
Facts about RMAF Butterworth (UTE):
- The closest airport to RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is RMAF Butterworth (BWH), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of UTE.
- RMAF Butterworth (UTE) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", other names for UTE include "TUDM Butterworth", "BWH" and "WMKB".
- Because of RMAF Butterworth's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at RMAF Butterworth 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.
- The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to RMAF Butterworth (meaning RMAF Butterworth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
- In 1957, the RAF closed the station and it was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force and it was promptly renamed as RAAF Station Butterworth, becoming the home to numerous Australian fighter and bomber squadrons stationed in Malaya during the Cold War era.
- During this period, No.
