Nonstop flight route between Gambell, Alaska, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gambell Airport (GAM), Gambell, Alaska, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,454 miles (or 7,168 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 Gambell Airport and MoD St Athan, 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 Gambell Airport and MoD St Athan. 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 Gambell Airport (GAM):

• On 27 February 1974, a Soviet Union An-24LR carrying a crew of 3 and 10 scientists on an ice-reconnaissance mission landed at Gambell due to fuel exhaustion in bad weather, causing a minor Cold War incident.
• Gambell Airport was used as a transport base during World War II, facilitating the transit of Lend-Lease aircraft to the Soviet Union.
• The closest airport to Gambell Airport (GAM) is Savoonga Airport (SVA), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of GAM.
• Gambell Airport (GAM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Gambell Airport (GAM) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,421 miles (16,771 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• Because of Gambell Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Gambell 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 addition to being known as "Gambell Airport", another name for GAM is "(former Gambell Army Airfield)".

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• The new academy was claimed to create up to 5000 jobs at St Athan with a £14 billion investment over 25 years with an estimated £57.4 million spent into the local economy.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• The base has been home to the RAF No.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of 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.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.