Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, South Africa and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GCJ to THU:
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- About this route
- GCJ Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about GCJ
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to GCJ
- List of Nearest Airports to GCJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from GCJ
- List of Furthest Airports from GCJ
- 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 Grand Central Airport (GCJ), Johannesburg, South Africa and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,071 miles (or 12,989 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 Grand Central 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 Grand Central 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: | GCJ / FAGC |
| Airport Name: | Grand Central Airport |
| Location: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| GPS Coordinates: | 25°59'11"S by 28°8'24"E |
| Area Served: | Johannesburg |
| Operator/Owner: | Private |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5327 feet (1,624 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GCJ |
| More Information: | GCJ 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 Grand Central Airport (GCJ):
- Because of Grand Central Airport's high elevation of 5,327 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GCJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GCJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Grand Central is a fully equipped airfield and is open 24 hours a day.
- Grand Central Airport (GCJ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) SSE of GCJ.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- 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.
- In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
- 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".
