Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DGX to DSM:
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- About this route
- DGX Airport Information
- DSM Airport Information
- Facts about DGX
- Facts about DSM
- Map of Nearest Airports to DGX
- List of Nearest Airports to DGX
- Map of Furthest Airports from DGX
- List of Furthest Airports from DGX
- Map of Nearest Airports to DSM
- List of Nearest Airports to DSM
- Map of Furthest Airports from DSM
- List of Furthest Airports from DSM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,070 miles (or 6,551 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 Des Moines International 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 Des Moines International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DGX / EGDX |
Airport Name: | MoD St Athan |
Location: | St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°24'16"N by 3°26'8"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 163 feet (50 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DGX |
More Information: | DGX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DSM / KDSM |
Airport Name: | Des Moines International Airport |
Location: | Des Moines, Iowa, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°32'2"N by 93°39'47"W |
Area Served: | Des Moines, Iowa |
Operator/Owner: | City of Des Moines |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 958 feet (292 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from DSM |
More Information: | DSM Maps & Info |
Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):
- RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
- The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of 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.
- 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 MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
- 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.
Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):
- The airport hosts the Des Moines Air National Guard Base and 132d Fighter Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard.
- Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
- Because of Des Moines International Airport's relatively low elevation of 958 feet, planes can take off or land at Des Moines International 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 furthest airport from Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Des Moines International Airport is a civil-military public airport three miles southwest of Des Moines, in Polk County, Iowa.
- In 2011, the City of Des Moines transferred control from the city to the Des Moines Airport Authority.
- The closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.