Nonstop flight route between Chico, California, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chico Municipal Airport (CIC), Chico, California, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,127 miles (or 8,252 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 Chico 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 Chico 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 Chico Municipal Airport (CIC):

• On 15 April 1942 the first cadre of permanent troops who managed the field moved in.
• Chico is now only served by SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express with Embraer EMB-120 turboprops nonstop to San Francisco.
• In addition to being known as "Chico Municipal Airport", another name for CIC is "Chico Army Airfield".
• The closest airport to Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) is Oroville Municipal Airport (OVE), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) SSE of CIC.
• In April 1944 the mission of the Field was changed from basic flying training of cadets to training of fighter pilots.
• On 30 January 1959 the Air Force announced plans to conduct surveys in the vicinity of Beale Air Force Base to determine the feasibility for missile bases.
• Airlines that served Chico in the past were American Airlines regional affiliate American Eagle, Hughes Airwest, Pacific Express, Reno Air Express and WestAir operating as United Express.
• The furthest airport from Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,229 miles (18,071 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Chico Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 73 feet, planes can take off or land at Chico 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.
• Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) has 2 runways.

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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• The base has been home to the RAF No.
• 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 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.
• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• The station officially opened as RAF St Athan on 1 September 1938 and the first unit to take up residence was No 4 School of Technical Training.
• 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.