Nonstop flight route between Grand Junction, Colorado, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GJT to THU:
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- About this route
- GJT Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about GJT
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to GJT
- List of Nearest Airports to GJT
- Map of Furthest Airports from GJT
- List of Furthest Airports from GJT
- 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 Junction Regional Airport (GJT), Grand Junction, Colorado, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,847 miles (or 4,581 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 Junction Regional 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 Junction Regional 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: | GJT / KGJT |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Grand Junction, Colorado, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 39°7'21"N by 108°31'36"W |
| Area Served: | Grand Junction MSA |
| Operator/Owner: | Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 4858 feet (1,481 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GJT |
| More Information: | GJT 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 Junction Regional Airport (GJT):
- In addition to being known as "Grand Junction Regional Airport", another name for GJT is "Walker Field".
- Because of Grand Junction Regional Airport's high elevation of 4,858 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GJT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GJT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Other jet airlines at Grand Junction included Continental Airlines to Denver during the 1980s and early 1990s flying Boeing 727-100s, 727-200s and 737-200s as well as Douglas DC-9-10s and DC-9-30s during those years when Continental operated a hub at Denver, Western Airlines Boeing 737-200s nonstop to SFO in winter of 1975-76, and America West Airlines Boeing 737-200s nonstop to Phoenix in the 1980s.
- The furthest airport from Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,014 miles (17,726 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The airport covers 2,357 acres at an elevation of 4,858 feet.
- Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) is Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL), which is located 51 miles (82 kilometers) ENE of GJT.
Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
- 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.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
