Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Columbia, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to COA:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- COA Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about COA
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to COA
- List of Nearest Airports to COA
- Map of Furthest Airports from COA
- List of Furthest Airports from COA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Columbia Airport (COA), Columbia, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,077 miles (or 4,952 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 Thule Air Base and Columbia Airport, 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 Thule Air Base and Columbia Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | THU / BGTL |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Pituffik, Greenland |
GPS Coordinates: | 76°31'51"N by 68°42'11"W |
View all routes: | Routes from THU |
More Information: | THU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | COA / |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Columbia, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°1'50"N by 120°24'51"W |
Operator/Owner: | County of Tuolumne |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2118 feet (646 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from COA |
More Information: | COA Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- Originally established as a Strategic Air Command installation, Thule would periodically serve as a dispersal base for B-36 Peacemaker and B-47 Stratojet aircraft during the 1950s, as well as providing an ideal site to test the operability and maintainability of these weapon systems in extreme cold weather.
- In 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.
- Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
- The furthest airport from Thule Air Base (THU) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 9,883 miles (15,905 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
Facts about Columbia Airport (COA):
- Columbia Airport (COA) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Columbia Airport (COA) is Modesto City-County Airport (MOD), which is located 41 miles (65 kilometers) SW of COA.
- The furthest airport from Columbia Airport (COA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,273 miles (18,143 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- In addition to being known as "Columbia Airport", other names for COA include "none" and "O22".