Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Zhijiang, Hubei, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Zhijiang Airport (HJJ), Zhijiang, Hubei, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,652 miles (or 9,096 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 Zhijiang 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 Zhijiang 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 only squadrons to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis are the University of Wales Air Squadron, flying Grob Tutors and No 634 Volunteer Gliding Squadron using Vigilant T.1s.
• 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.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• 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.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• The two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Zhijiang Airport (HJJ):

• The furthest airport from Zhijiang Airport (HJJ) is Chamonate Airfield (CPO), which is nearly antipodal to Zhijiang Airport (meaning Zhijiang Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chamonate Airfield), and is located 12,425 miles (19,995 kilometers) away in Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile.
• Zhijiang Airport (HJJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Zhijiang Airport (HJJ) is Tongren Fenghuang Airport (TEN), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) NW of HJJ.
• Zhijiang Airport is an airport serving the city of Huaihua in Hunan Province, China.
• In addition to being known as "Zhijiang Airport", other names for HJJ include "芷江机场", "Zhǐjiāng Jīchǎng" and "ZGCJ".