Nonstop flight route between Rockland, Maine, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Knox County Regional Airport (RKD), Rockland, Maine, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,244 miles (or 3,611 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 Knox County Regional Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Knox County Regional Airport (RKD):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 13,866 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 14,461 enplanements in 2009, and 17,657 in 2010.
• Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) has 2 runways.
• During the summer months, the airport is one of Maine's busiest, with significant private jet operations bringing visitors to the numerous summer colonies in the Penobscot Bay region.
• The furthest airport from Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,708 miles (18,842 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Knox County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at Knox County Regional 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.
• The closest airport to Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) is Wiscasset Airport (ISS), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) WSW of RKD.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• 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.
• On 21 January 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress from the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York on a secret airborne nuclear alert crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air Base.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.