Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ames, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ames Municipal Airport (AMW), Ames, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,047 miles (or 6,513 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 Ames Municipal Airport, 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 Ames Municipal Airport. 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 MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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.
• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Ames Municipal Airport (AMW):

• Ames Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two miles southeast of the central business district of Ames, a city in Story County, Iowa, United States.
• Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) is Boone Municipal Airport (BNW), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) WNW of AMW.
• The furthest airport from Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,785 miles (17,357 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• According to NTSB records, the airport has had no fatal accidents since 1962.
• From May 10, 2010 through June 11, 2010, there were between five and six arrivals/departures at Ames each day.