Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DGX to SYA:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- DGX Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about DGX
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to DGX
- List of Nearest Airports to DGX
- Map of Furthest Airports from DGX
- List of Furthest Airports from DGX
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,242 miles (or 8,436 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 MoD St Athan and Eareckson Air Station, 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 MoD St Athan and Eareckson Air Station. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DGX / EGDX |
Airport Name: | MoD St Athan |
Location: | St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°24'16"N by 3°26'8"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 163 feet (50 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DGX |
More Information: | DGX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):
- The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
- 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.
- MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
- MOD St Athan is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.
- After the war, airmen of the Airframe and Engine trades continued to train at St Athan, but in 1955 this training dispersed to RAF Kirkham and RAF Weeton.
- In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
- The new academy was claimed to create up to 5000 jobs at St Athan with a £14 billion investment over 25 years with an estimated £57.4 million spent into the local economy.
- 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 two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
- 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
- The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
- There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
- Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station 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 station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
- By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
- On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
- The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.