Nonstop flight route between Valcartier, Québec, Canada and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY), Valcartier, Québec, Canada and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,979 miles (or 4,795 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 Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport 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 Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport 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 Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY):

• In addition to being known as "Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport", other names for YOY include "2nd Canadian Division Support Base, Valcartier" and "Base des Forces canadiennes Valcartier".
• The furthest airport from Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,480 miles (18,475 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport's relatively low elevation of 550 feet, planes can take off or land at Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport 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 Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY) is Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SE of YOY.
• In July 1974, an explosives safety training accident involving "D" Company killed six cadets and injured over 50.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• On 26 August 1993 an ATC civilian instructor was seriously injured and the RAF Volunteer Reserve pilot, Group Captain Roger Sweatman, was killed when their Chipmunk trainer, on an air experience flight, crashed after encountering difficulties during a simulated emergency low-height manoeuvre on take-off.
• 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.
• 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 continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• 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 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 closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• In March 2003 it was confirmed that a new hi-tech maintenance centre would be built, creating 3,300 jobs.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.