Nonstop flight route between Gunnison, Colorado, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC), Gunnison, Colorado, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,867 miles (or 4,614 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 Gunnison-Crested Butte 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 Gunnison-Crested Butte 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC):

• In the months after the September 11 attacks, Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport was one of several airports to have a temporary presence of National Guard.
• It is at 38°32′02″N 106°55′59″W / 38.53389°N 106.93306°W / 38.53389.
• Because of Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport's high elevation of 7,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GUC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GUC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) is Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) N of GUC.
• The furthest airport from Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,016 miles (17,728 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Passengers at Gunnison are mainly vacationers coming to the area for year-round outdoor activities, such as skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, mountain biking, fishing, rafting, hiking and camping.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• In 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.
• There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of 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.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.