Nonstop flight route between Rifle, Colorado, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RIL to THU:
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- About this route
- RIL Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about RIL
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIL
- List of Nearest Airports to RIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIL
- List of Furthest Airports from RIL
- 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 Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL), Rifle, Colorado, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,810 miles (or 4,522 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 Garfield County 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 Garfield County 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: | RIL / KRIL |
Airport Name: | Garfield County Regional Airport |
Location: | Rifle, Colorado, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°31'35"N by 107°43'36"W |
Area Served: | Garfield County, Colorado |
Operator/Owner: | Garfield County |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5548 feet (1,691 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIL |
More Information: | RIL 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 Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL):
- The closest airport to Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) E of RIL.
- Because of Garfield County Regional Airport's high elevation of 5,548 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,972 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- 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.
- 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.
- Thule Air Base is the U.S.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- 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.
- 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 delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.