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):

• An all black company was assigned to the Field in August 1942.
• Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• The City of Chico built a small airport on 160 acres of land 5 miles north of the city in the late 1930s and leased the facility to a fixed-base operator.
• Chico Army Air Field was deactivated on December 31, 1945.
• The closest airport to Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) is Oroville Municipal Airport (OVE), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) SSE of CIC.
• 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.
• Chico Army Airfield was under the command of the 10th Army Air Force Base Unit, AAF West Coast Training Center, Army Air Forces Training Command.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Chico Municipal Airport", another name for CIC is "Chico Army Airfield".

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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.
• During the 1960s, a driving school was established.
• 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.