Nonstop flight route between Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between First Flight Airport (FFA), Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,808 miles (or 4,518 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 First Flight 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 First Flight 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about First Flight Airport (FFA):

• The closest airport to First Flight Airport (FFA) is Dare County Regional Airport (MEO), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of FFA.
• The furthest airport from First Flight Airport (FFA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,810 miles (19,007 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On December 17, 1903 the first successful powered heavier-than-air aircraft flight occurred here, conducted by the Wright brothers.
• Because of First Flight Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at First Flight 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.
• First Flight Airport (FFA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport itself is famous for being the site of hundreds of pre-flight gliding experiments carried out by the Wright brothers.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
• 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 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• 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.
• Thule Air Base is the U.S.
• 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".
• 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.