Nonstop flight route between Decatur, Illinois, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DEC to THU:
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- About this route
- DEC Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about DEC
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to DEC
- List of Nearest Airports to DEC
- Map of Furthest Airports from DEC
- List of Furthest Airports from DEC
- 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 Decatur Airport (DEC), Decatur, Illinois, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,607 miles (or 4,196 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 Decatur Airport 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 Decatur Airport 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: | DEC / KDEC |
| Airport Name: | Decatur Airport |
| Location: | Decatur, Illinois, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 39°50'3"N by 88°51'56"W |
| Area Served: | Decatur, Illinois |
| Operator/Owner: | Decatur Park District |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 682 feet (208 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DEC |
| More Information: | DEC 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 Decatur Airport (DEC):
- The furthest airport from Decatur Airport (DEC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,056 miles (17,793 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Decatur Airport's relatively low elevation of 682 feet, planes can take off or land at Decatur Airport 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.
- Decatur Airport covers 2,100 acres at an elevation of 682 feet.
- Decatur Airport (DEC) has 3 runways.
- Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 1,232 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 672 in 2009 and 2,456 in 2010.
- The closest airport to Decatur Airport (DEC) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) ENE of DEC.
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.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- 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.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
- 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.
