Nonstop flight route between Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL), Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 690 miles (or 1,111 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 relatively short distance between Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base and MoD St Athan, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL):

• Flugplatz FürstenfeldbruckAdvanced Landing Ground R-72
• The RAF and USAAF understood that Fürstenfeldbruck was being used extensively as a training base, and believed it to be of little strategic importance.
• On 13 August 1948 the 36th Fighter Wing was assigned to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base as an operational unit.
• The closest airport to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL) is Augsburg Airport (AGB), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NW of FEL.
• The mission of the 1117th TRW was to provide tactical, visual, photographic and electronic reconnaissance by both day and night, as was required by the military forces within the European command.
• On 20 January 1950, the 36th FW was redesignated as a Fighter-Bomber Wing when 89 Republic F-84E "Thunderjets" arrived.
• Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Fifty direct hits were made on the field the afternoon of 9 April 1945 when 338 B-17s of the 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force, unleashed 867 tons of bombs on the runways, hangars, repair shops, and other facilities.
• In addition to being known as "Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base", another name for FEL is "Flugplatz FürstenfeldbruckAdvanced Landing Ground R-72".
• The furthest airport from Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,958 miles (19,244 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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 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.
• 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.