Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Rio Grande, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), Rio Grande, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,482 miles (or 10,431 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 Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande 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 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 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• After the war, airmen of the Airframe and Engine trades continued to train at St Athan, but in 1955 this training dispersed to RAF Kirkham and RAF Weeton.

Facts about Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG):

• The furthest airport from Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG) is Fukue Airport (FUJ), which is nearly antipodal to Rio Grande Regional Airport (meaning Rio Grande Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fukue Airport), and is located 12,366 miles (19,901 kilometers) away in Gotō, Nagasaki, Japan.
• In addition to being known as "Rio Grande Regional Airport", other names for RIG include "Aeroporto Regional de Rio Grande" and "SJRG".
• Because of Rio Grande Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Rio Grande 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.
• Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG) is Pelotas International Airport (PET), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNW of RIG.