Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and San Luis Obispo, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DGX to SBP:
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- About this route
- DGX Airport Information
- SBP Airport Information
- Facts about DGX
- Facts about SBP
- Map of Nearest Airports to DGX
- List of Nearest Airports to DGX
- Map of Furthest Airports from DGX
- List of Furthest Airports from DGX
- Map of Nearest Airports to SBP
- List of Nearest Airports to SBP
- Map of Furthest Airports from SBP
- List of Furthest Airports from SBP
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP), San Luis Obispo, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,348 miles (or 8,607 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 San Luis Obispo County 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 San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | DGX / EGDX |
| Airport Name: | MoD St Athan |
| Location: | St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°24'16"N by 3°26'8"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 163 feet (50 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DGX |
| More Information: | DGX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SBP / KSBP |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | San Luis Obispo, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°14'12"N by 120°38'30"W |
| Operator/Owner: | San Luis Obispo County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 212 feet (65 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SBP |
| More Information: | SBP Maps & Info |
Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):
- 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.
- 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.
- The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
- In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
- The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
- 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 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.
- MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP):
- The furthest airport from San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- The closest airport to San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) is O'Sullivan Army Heliport (CSL), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SBP.
- Because of San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 212 feet, planes can take off or land at San Luis Obispo County 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.
- Southwest Airways DC-3 flights to San Luis Obispo lasted from 1946 to 1956 when the airline moved its service to Paso Robles due to the short runway at San Luis Obispo not being able to accommodate more modern aircraft.
- San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport", another name for SBP is "McChesney Field".
