Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Braintree, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VBG to WXF:
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- About this route
- VBG Airport Information
- WXF Airport Information
- Facts about VBG
- Facts about WXF
- 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 WXF
- List of Nearest Airports to WXF
- Map of Furthest Airports from WXF
- List of Furthest Airports from WXF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,472 miles (or 8,806 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 MDPGA Wethersfield, 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 MDPGA Wethersfield. 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: | WXF / EGVT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Braintree, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°58'26"N by 0°30'21"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
Airport Type: | Military airfield, private airfield |
Elevation: | 322 feet (98 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from WXF |
More Information: | WXF Maps & Info |
Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):
- General Vandenberg retired from the Air Force in June 1953.
- The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
- Although the construction of Camp Cooke continued well into 1942, troop training did not wait.
- In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
- 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.
- In 1941 the United States Army sought more and better training centers for the rapid development of its armored and infantry forces.
Facts about MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):
- The closure of US bases in France forced the opening of RAF Greenham Common under 20th TFW management to handle personnel overflow beginning in January 1967.
- On 6 June 1982 614 VGS moved to MDPGA Wethersfield from RAF Debden, as that base was required for tank training.
- Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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.
- MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
- Starting in July 1966, bases in Turkey, Spain, and Italy were transferred from Tactical Air Command to USAFE.
- In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
- As the American involvement in the Vietnam War wound down, the role of RED HORSE units in peacetime came into question.
- The furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Soon after the Americans departed for France, Wethersfield was returned to RAF control, becoming the home for 196 and 299 Squadrons, 38 Group, RAF Bomber Command.
- The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.