Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Fukui, Honshu, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Fukui Airport (FKJ), Fukui, Honshu, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,913 miles (or 9,516 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 Fukui 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 Fukui 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• The MOD later decided that DARA's 'Fast Jets' and 'Engines' businesses would close by April 2007, although the 'Large Aircraft' business would continue and, on 14 April 2005, the Project Red Dragon super-hangar opened and DARA moved its VC10 operations from its existing 'Twin Peaks' hangar into the new facility.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.

Facts about Fukui Airport (FKJ):

• Fukui Airport (FKJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Fukui Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Fukui 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 closest airport to Fukui Airport (FKJ) is Komatsu Airport (KMQ), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) NNE of FKJ.
• The furthest airport from Fukui Airport (FKJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,881 miles (19,121 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.