Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Modesto, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Modesto City-County Airport (MOD), Modesto, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,223 miles (or 8,405 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 Modesto City-County 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 Modesto City-County 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Modesto City-County Airport (MOD):

• In mid-2006 United Express/SkyWest Airlines added four flights a day to/from LAX and a flight to SFO to total 5 flights a day to San Francisco.
• In addition to being known as "Modesto City-County Airport", other names for MOD include "Harry Sham Field" and "Modesto Auxiliary Airfield".
• In January 2010 the airport attracted periodic leisure charter flights on Boeing 737-400 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets to Laughlin and West Wendover, NV.
• The furthest airport from Modesto City-County Airport (MOD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,208 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Modesto City-County Airport (MOD) has 2 runways.
• Because of Modesto City-County Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Modesto City-County 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.
• Scheduled passenger flights started in 1946 when United Airlines opened its new terminal and began the Valley Queen service.
• The closest airport to Modesto City-County Airport (MOD) is NASA Crows Landing Airport (NRC), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of MOD.