Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Visalia, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS), Visalia, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,177 miles (or 5,113 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 Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield, 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 Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield. 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 Thule Air Base (THU):

• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• Thule Air Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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.
• 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 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.

Facts about Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS):

• Unlike the construction of other military airfields of World War II, Visalia Army Airfield seems to have used the existing municipal airport.
• In January 1944 the Headquarters, Army Air Forces ordered the entire Air University night fighter training program to California to be headquartered at Hammer Field.
• In 1946 the War Assets Administration, acting on behalf of the War Department, terminated the leases with the City of Visalia and other parties with the remainder of the lands transferred to the City of Visalia in 1947.
• The furthest airport from Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,355 miles (18,274 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 295 feet, planes can take off or land at Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield 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 Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS) is Mefford Field (TLR), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of VIS.