Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Zoersel / Oostmalle, Belgium:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield (OBL), Zoersel / Oostmalle, Belgium would travel a Great Circle distance of 353 miles (or 569 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 MoD St Athan and Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• The base has been home to the RAF No.
• The only squadrons to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis are the University of Wales Air Squadron, flying Grob Tutors and No 634 Volunteer Gliding Squadron using Vigilant T.1s.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• During the 1960s, a driving school was established.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In March 2004, however, DARA announced the loss of 550 jobs at St Athan as part of streamlining to make DARA more efficient and better able to compete with the private sector for lucrative aircraft repair contracts, but also because they lost out to a direct RAF bid for a contract to upgrade the air force's fleet of ageing Harrier jump jet aircraft.
• Because of MoD St Athan's relatively low elevation of 163 feet, planes can take off or land at MoD St Athan 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 MoD St Athan (DGX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• The MOD later decided that DARA's 'Fast Jets' and 'Engines' businesses would close by April 2007, although the 'Large Aircraft' business would continue and, on 14 April 2005, the Project Red Dragon super-hangar opened and DARA moved its VC10 operations from its existing 'Twin Peaks' hangar into the new facility.

Facts about Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield (OBL):

• The furthest airport from Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield (OBL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,919 miles (19,181 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield's relatively low elevation of 53 feet, planes can take off or land at Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield 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.
• Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield (OBL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Zoersel-Oostmalle Airfield (OBL) is Antwerp International Airport (ANR), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WSW of OBL.