Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ashburton, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), Ashburton, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,873 miles (or 19,108 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 Ashburton Aerodrome, 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 Ashburton Aerodrome. 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):

• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• St Athan also became the major RAF maintenance base for Vulcan, Victor, Buccaner, Phantom, Harrier, Tornado, Jaguar, Hawk and VC10 aircraft, originally under direct RAF control, but latterly under the auspices of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency.
• 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of 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 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 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 two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.

Facts about Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG):

• Because of Ashburton Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 298 feet, planes can take off or land at Ashburton Aerodrome 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 furthest airport from Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ashburton Aerodrome (meaning Ashburton Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,394 miles (19,947 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG) is Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (TIU), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) SW of ASG.