Nonstop flight route between Marana, Arizona, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pinal Airpark (MZJ), Marana, Arizona, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,183 miles (or 8,342 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 Pinal Airpark 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 Pinal Airpark 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 Pinal Airpark (MZJ):

• In addition to being known as "Pinal Airpark", another name for MZJ is "Marana Army Airfield".
• The furthest airport from Pinal Airpark (MZJ) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,496 miles (18,502 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Pinal Airpark covers an area of 2,080 acres at an elevation of 1,893 feet above mean sea level.
• Marana became the headquarters of all Central Intelligence Agency air operations during the Vietnam War years, when it was the primary facility of Intermountain Airlines, a wholly owned CIA "front" company which was used to supply covert operations in Southeast Asia & elsewhere.
• Built in 1942 by the Sundt & Del Webb Construction Companies and opened in March 1943, the facility was known as Marana Army Air Field.
• Its main purpose is to act as a boneyard for civilian commercial aircraft.
• Pinal Airpark (MZJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Pinal Airpark (MZJ) is Marana Regional Airport (AVW), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SE of MZJ.

Facts about MoD St Athan (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.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• 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.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.