Nonstop flight route between Orlando, Florida, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), Orlando, Florida, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,199 miles (or 6,757 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 Orlando Executive 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 Orlando Executive 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 Orlando Executive Airport (ORL):

• Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) has 2 runways.
• In 1961 the airport was renamed again, this time called Herndon Airport after former Orlando city engineer "Pat" Herndon, the name change being in preparation for moving commercial air service to the new Orlando Jetport at McCoy that was to be collocated at McCoy AFB, the facility which is known today as the Orlando International Airport.
• By the early 1960s development around the airport had made airport expansion unlikely.
• Because of Orlando Executive Airport's relatively low elevation of 113 feet, planes can take off or land at Orlando Executive 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 1943 the AAFSAT began training units in Night Fighter operations.
• In 1946 commercial service with National Airlines and Eastern Air Lines began at the now civilian Orlando Municipal Airport.
• The furthest airport from Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,503 miles (18,513 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) is Orlando International Airport (MCO), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) S of ORL.
• Opened in 1928 as the Orlando Municipal Airport, the airport was the first commercial airport in central Florida.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• The only squadrons to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis are the University of Wales Air Squadron, flying Grob Tutors and No 634 Volunteer Gliding Squadron using Vigilant T.1s.
• 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.
• 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.
• St Athan also became the major RAF maintenance base for Vulcan, Victor, Buccaner, Phantom, Harrier, Tornado, Jaguar, Hawk and VC10 aircraft, originally under direct RAF control, but latterly under the auspices of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency.
• 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.