Nonstop flight route between Rockland, Maine, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RKD to THU:
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- About this route
- RKD Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about RKD
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to RKD
- List of Nearest Airports to RKD
- Map of Furthest Airports from RKD
- List of Furthest Airports from RKD
- 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 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RKD / KRKD |
| Airport Name: | Knox County Regional Airport |
| Location: | Rockland, Maine, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 44°3'36"N by 69°5'57"W |
| Area Served: | Rockland, Maine |
| Operator/Owner: | Knox County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 56 feet (17 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RKD |
| More Information: | RKD 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 Knox County Regional Airport (RKD):
- Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- Knox County Regional Airport covers an area of 538 acres at an elevation of 56 feet above mean sea level.
- 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 closest airport to Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) is Wiscasset Airport (ISS), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) WSW of RKD.
- After the war, it was operated by the City of Rockland until 1968.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule Air Base is the U.S.
- The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
- Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,207 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland.
- Thule Air Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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".
- 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.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- 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.
