Nonstop flight route between Garden City, Kansas, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Garden City Regional Airport (GCK), Garden City, Kansas, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,511 miles (or 7,260 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 Garden City Regional 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 Garden City Regional 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 Garden City Regional Airport (GCK):

• During World War II the United States Army Air Forces used Garden City Airport as a training airfield by the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, Gulf Coast Training Center.
• The main Garden City Army Airfield and its auxiliaries closed in November 1945 and were declared excess by the military on 18 May 1947.
• Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) has 2 runways.
• Continental DC-3s landed at GCK from the 1940s until replaced by Central in 1961.
• The furthest airport from Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,860 miles (17,477 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) is Dodge City Regional Airport (DDC), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) ESE of GCK.

Facts about MoD St Athan (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 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• 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.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the 1960s, a driving school was established.
• 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 two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.