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".
• In 1997 a cancer-causing chemical, trichloroethylene, was found in the water supply of CFB Valcartier and the nearby town of Shannon, Quebec.
• Canadian Forces Base Valcartier is a Canadian Forces Base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, approximately 25 km north of Quebec City.
• In 1968, after unification of the Canadian Forces, the title 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group was assigned to the brigade group established in CFB Valcartier.
• 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.
• The site was also used as an internment camp for "enemy aliens", mainly eastern Europeans.
• 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 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.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• 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.
• 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 MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• MOD St Athan is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of 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.