Nonstop flight route between Velikiye Luki, Pskov Oblast, Russia and Columbus, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU), Velikiye Luki, Pskov Oblast, Russia and Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,269 miles (or 8,480 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 Velikiye Luki Airport and Columbus Air Force Base, 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 Velikiye Luki Airport and Columbus Air Force Base. 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 Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU):

• Because of Velikiye Luki Airport's relatively low elevation of 328 feet, planes can take off or land at Velikiye Luki 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.
• The closest airport to Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU) is Smolensk South Airport (LNX), which is located 127 miles (204 kilometers) SSE of VLU.
• The furthest airport from Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,971 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Velikiye Luki Airport", another name for VLU is "Аэропорт Великие Луки".
• Velikiye Luki Airport (VLU) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• The school used a number of trainers, including the AT-8, AT-9, AT-10, and B-25.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.
• The 454th Bombardment Wing completed more than 100 missions to South Vietnam without losing a single bomber to enemy aircraft fire.
• On 8 January 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 30th Flying Training Wing at Columbus and assigned it to the AAF Eastern Flying Training Command.
• The first KC-135 Stratotanker, piloted by the wing commander, landed on the new runway on 7 January 1959.
• When the war ended in 1945, the base strength had reached a peak of 2,300 enlisted men, 300 officers, and an average of 250 pilot cadets per class.
• The citizens' efforts bore fruit.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1992, ATC was inactivated and the 14 FTW came under the newly created Air Education and Training Command and AETC's 19th Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• About half the pilots in the Air Force today went through basic and primary flight training at Columbus AFB.