Nonstop flight route between Riverside/Rubidoux, California, United States and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Flabob Airport (RIR), Riverside/Rubidoux, California, United States and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,313 miles (or 8,550 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 Flabob 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 Flabob 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 Flabob Airport (RIR):

• Flabob airport is home to Experimental Aircraft Association chapter #1, launched by Ray Stits and since joined by over 1,000 more EAA chapters worldwide.
• The closest airport to Flabob Airport (RIR) is Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SW of RIR.
• For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2004, the airport had 40,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 109 per day.
• Because of Flabob Airport's relatively low elevation of 764 feet, planes can take off or land at Flabob 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.
• Flabob Airport (RIR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Flabob Airport (RIR) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,459 miles (18,441 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

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 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.
• 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 two cadet passengers were cousins and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 15, and Nikitta Walters, 14.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• 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.