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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), Dargaville, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,360 miles (or 18,282 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 Dargaville 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 Dargaville 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The training to be carried out at St Athan was to be specialist phase 2 and phase 3 engineering courses of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.
• The two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• 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 last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• 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.

Facts about Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR):

• The closest airport to Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR) is Whangarei Airport (WRE), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) ENE of DGR.
• Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR) has 2 runways.
• Because of Dargaville Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 635 feet, planes can take off or land at Dargaville 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 airfield has an active aero club which provides training in advanced microlight and a Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft, and has a regular 'fly-in' lunch once a week that attracts aviators from New Zealand's North island.
• Contact Info Phone 439-8024 or 0274 784 308 Website http://www.goflying.co.nz/
• The furthest airport from Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR) is Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), which is nearly antipodal to Dargaville Aerodrome (meaning Dargaville Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport), and is located 12,419 miles (19,986 kilometers) away in Tangier, Morocco.