Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RIA to DGX:
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- About this route
- RIA Airport Information
- DGX Airport Information
- Facts about RIA
- Facts about DGX
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIA
- List of Nearest Airports to RIA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIA
- List of Furthest Airports from RIA
- Map of Nearest Airports to DGX
- List of Nearest Airports to DGX
- Map of Furthest Airports from DGX
- List of Furthest Airports from DGX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (RIA), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,381 miles (or 10,269 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 Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RIA / SBSM |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°42'38"S by 53°41'31"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria |
Operator/Owner: | Brazilian Air Force |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 289 feet (88 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIA |
More Information: | RIA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DGX / EGDX |
Airport Name: | MoD St Athan |
Location: | St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°24'16"N by 3°26'8"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 163 feet (50 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DGX |
More Information: | DGX Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (RIA):
- The airport is located 11 km east of downtown Santa Maria.
- Santa Maria Airport is the airport serving Santa Maria, Brazil.
- Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 289 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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.
- Santa Maria Airport (RIA) has 2 runways.
- Since 1971, with the creation of the Santa Maria Air Force Base, civil and military facilities are shared.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for RIA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is João Batista Bos Filho Airport (IJU), which is located 93 miles (150 kilometers) N of RIA.
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is Aguni Airport (AGJ), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aguni Airport), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Aguni, Japan.
Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):
- Just before 1100 GMT on 11 February 2009, two Grob Tutor aircraft flying out of St Athan were involved in a mid-air collision in which two Air Training Corps cadets and their instructors, both RAF pilots, died.
- The base has been home to the RAF No.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 2006, the Special Forces Support Group was raised at St Athan and the Welsh Guards returned to London.
- 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.
- The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
- 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.
- RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
- MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.