Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Dayton, Ohio, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (FFO), Dayton, Ohio, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,775 miles (or 6,076 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 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 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 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. 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.
• 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.
• After the war, airmen of the Airframe and Engine trades continued to train at St Athan, but in 1955 this training dispersed to RAF Kirkham and RAF Weeton.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
• 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 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (FFO):

• Wright-Patterson AFB is "one of the largest, most diverse, and organizationally complex bases in the Air Force" with a long history of flight test spanning from the Wright Brothers into the Space Age.
• The closest airport to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (FFO) is James M. Cox Dayton International Airport (DAY), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) WNW of FFO.
• In addition to being known as "Wright-Patterson Air Force Base", another name for FFO is "Wright-Patterson AFB".
• Prehistoric Indian mounds of the Adena culture at Wright-Patterson are along P Street and, at the Wright Brothers Memorial, a hilltop mound group.
• World War I transfers of land that later became WPAFB include 2,075-acre along the Mad River leased to the Army by the Miami Conservancy District, the adjacent 40 acres purchased by the Army from the District for the Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot, and a 254-acre complex for McCook Field located just north of downtown Dayton between Keowee Street and the Great Miami River.
• In 1954, 465 acres of land adjacent to the Mad River at the northeast boundary of the base, near the former location of the village of Osborn, were purchased for a Strategic Air Command dispersal site.
• The furthest airport from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (FFO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,306 miles (18,195 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In February 1940 at Wright Field, the Army Air Corps established the Technical Data Branch.
• The Army Air Forces Technical Base was formed during the WWII drawdown by merging Wright Field, Patterson Field, Dayton Army Air Field, and—acquired by Wright Fld for 1942 glider testing--Clinton Army Air Field on 15 December 1945 under Brig Gen Joseph T.