Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Hartford, Connecticut, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Hartford-Brainard Airport (HFD), Hartford, Connecticut, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,228 miles (or 5,196 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 Hartford-Brainard 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 Hartford-Brainard 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):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.

Facts about Hartford-Brainard Airport (HFD):

• The closest airport to Hartford-Brainard Airport (HFD) is Rentschler Heliport (EHT), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) NE of HFD.
• Because of Hartford-Brainard Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Hartford-Brainard 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.
• Hartford-Brainard Airport (HFD) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Hartford-Brainard Airport (HFD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,752 miles (18,913 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.