Nonstop flight route between Bedford, Massachusetts, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BED to THU:
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- About this route
- BED Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about BED
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to BED
- List of Nearest Airports to BED
- Map of Furthest Airports from BED
- List of Furthest Airports from BED
- 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 Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED), Bedford, Massachusetts, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,355 miles (or 3,789 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 relatively short distance between Laurence G. Hanscom Field and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BED / KBED |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Bedford, Massachusetts, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 42°28'11"N by 71°17'20"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military |
| Elevation: | 132 feet (40 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BED |
| More Information: | BED 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 Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED):
- In addition to being known as "Laurence G. Hanscom Field", another name for BED is "Hanscom Air Force Base".
- The furthest airport from Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,753 miles (18,914 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- In April 1975, President Gerald Ford used Hanscom Field before and after making speeches in Lexington, Massachusetts and Concord, Massachusetts to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
- The Massachusetts Air and Space Museum is looking at Hanscom Field as a future location.
- From 1999 until 2003, Shuttle America, a Connecticut-based regional airline operating for US Airways Express, operated scheduled service from the airfield, carrying more than 10,000 passengers each month to airports in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania using De Havilland Dash 8 and Saab 340 aircraft.
- Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) ESE of BED.
- In its final years, Clipper would add flights to Ithaca Airport in Western NY from Hanscom.
- New England's oldest and largest flight school based at Hanscom along with their new facility at Lawrence Airport.
- Hanscom's flight school that offers ratings up to ATP.
- Because of Laurence G. Hanscom Field's relatively low elevation of 132 feet, planes can take off or land at Laurence G. Hanscom Field 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.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- 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.
- There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- 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".
- In the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses.
