Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ottumwa, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM), Ottumwa, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,044 miles (or 6,509 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 Ottumwa Regional 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 Ottumwa Regional 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 1960s, a driving school was established.
• 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 base has been home to the RAF No.
• 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.
• 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 Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM):

• The furthest airport from Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,856 miles (17,470 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• With the end of World War II and much less need for large numbers of aviators, NAS Ottumwa was transitioned from a flight training role to one of classroom-based pre-flight training on December 7, 1945—exactly four years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
• Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM) has 2 runways.
• NAS Ottumwa was constructed as a Naval Training Center shortly after America's entry into World War II.
• In December, 1947, Central States Airlines began commercial air service to Ottumwa.
• Because of Ottumwa Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Ottumwa Regional 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.
• In 2002, the City of Ottumwa, in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration constructed a new terminal at the airport, replacing the World War II-era operations building that had served as the terminal.
• The closest airport to Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM) is Fairfield Municipal Airport (FFL), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) E of OTM.
• For the 12-month period ending June 4, 2009, the airport had 16,450 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 45 per day.