Nonstop flight route between Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WRI to THU:
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- About this route
- WRI Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about WRI
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to WRI
- List of Nearest Airports to WRI
- Map of Furthest Airports from WRI
- List of Furthest Airports from WRI
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between McGuire AFB (WRI), Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,529 miles (or 4,070 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 McGuire AFB and Thule Air Base, 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 McGuire AFB and Thule Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WRI / KWRI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°0'56"N by 74°35'30"W |
View all routes: | Routes from WRI |
More Information: | WRI Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about McGuire AFB (WRI):
- Flight operations to support Camp Dix at an adjacent airfield took place as early as 1926.
- The Twin Mustangs of the 52d FW were replaced by the ADC 4709th Defense Wing on 1 February 1952.
- The furthest airport from McGuire AFB (WRI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,757 miles (18,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to McGuire AFB (WRI) is JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) E of WRI.
- The Bomarc site remained in operation under successor organizations after the inactivation of the NYADS.
- In addition to being known as "McGuire AFB", another name for WRI is "McGuire AFB/JB MDL McGuire".
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- Thule Air Base is also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Thule." The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- The Pentagon maintained that all four weapons had been destroyed.
- After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Henrik Kauffmann Danish Ambassador to the United States, made an agreement "In the name of the king" with the United States authorizing the United States to defend the Danish colonies on Greenland from German aggression - this agreement faced Kaufmann with a charge of high treason.