Nonstop flight route between Bedford, Indiana, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR), Bedford, Indiana, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,916 miles (or 6,303 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport and MoD St Athan, 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport and MoD St Athan. 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR):

• The closest airport to Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) is Monroe County Airport (BMG), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NNW of BFR.
• Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,195 miles (18,016 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport is named in honor of Virgil I.
• Because of Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 728 feet, planes can take off or land at Virgil I. Grissom Municipal 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.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• During the war a dummy airfield was built using wood and cardboard a few miles west of the original airfield and successful efforts were made to hide the proper field.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• RAF St Athan has been used to house a number of army units throughout its life and, in 2003, the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards moved from Aldershot to St Athan - the first time they have been based in Wales since they were formed in 1915.
• 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.
• 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 base has been home to the RAF No.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Just before 1100 GMT on 11 February 2009, two Grob Tutor aircraft flying out of St Athan were involved in a mid-air collision in which two Air Training Corps cadets and their instructors, both RAF pilots, died.