Nonstop flight route between Westhampton Beach, New York, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FOK to THU:
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- About this route
- FOK Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about FOK
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to FOK
- List of Nearest Airports to FOK
- Map of Furthest Airports from FOK
- List of Furthest Airports from FOK
- 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 Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK), Westhampton Beach, New York, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,469 miles (or 3,973 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 Francis S. Gabreski Airport 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: | FOK / KFOK |
| Airport Name: | Francis S. Gabreski Airport |
| Location: | Westhampton Beach, New York, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°50'36"N by 72°37'54"W |
| Area Served: | Westhampton Beach, New York |
| Operator/Owner: | County of Suffolk |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military (ANG) |
| Elevation: | 67 feet (20 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from FOK |
| More Information: | FOK 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 Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK):
- Because of Francis S. Gabreski Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Francis S. Gabreski 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.
- Suffolk County AFB was also the main support base for the Suffolk County Missile Annex, a nearby USAF CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile launch complex for the defense of the New York City metropolitan area under the control of a missile launch control center at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.
- Renamed when the United States Air Force reclaimed the airport in 1951, Suffolk County Air Force Base was part of the Eastern Air Defense Force's defense of the New York City metropolitan area.
- Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) has 3 runways.
- The Suffolk County Police Aviation Section bases a Law Enforcement and MEDEVAC helicopter at the airport.
- Military operations were reintroduced in June 1970 when the 102nd Air Refueling Squadron of the 106th Air Refueling Group, New York Air National Guard, relocated to Suffolk County with their KC-97 Stratotankers after the closing of Naval Air Station Floyd Bennett Field.
- The closest airport to Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Calverton Executive Airpark (CTO), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of FOK.
- The furthest airport from Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,798 miles (18,988 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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.
- 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 became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
- 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 closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of 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.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- 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.
