Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (CXH), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,628 miles (or 7,448 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 Vancouver Harbour Water 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 Vancouver Harbour Water 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):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 26 August 1993 an ATC civilian instructor was seriously injured and the RAF Volunteer Reserve pilot, Group Captain Roger Sweatman, was killed when their Chipmunk trainer, on an air experience flight, crashed after encountering difficulties during a simulated emergency low-height manoeuvre on take-off.
• 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.

Facts about Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (CXH):

• The closest airport to Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (CXH) is Vancouver International Airport (YVR), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) SSW of CXH.
• The furthest airport from Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (CXH) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,677 miles (17,184 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In 2007, the link to Victoria Inner Harbour Airport was, according to the Official Airline Guide, Canada's busiest air route by the number of weekly flights.
• Vancouver Harbour Water Airport or Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base is located at Coal Harbour in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
• Because of Vancouver Harbour Water Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Vancouver Harbour Water 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.
• In addition to being known as "Vancouver Harbour Water Airport", another name for CXH is "Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base".