Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Gainesville, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE), Gainesville, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,097 miles (or 4,984 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 Thule Air Base and Gainesville Municipal Airport, 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 Thule Air Base and Gainesville Municipal Airport. 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 Thule Air Base (THU):

• In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.
• 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 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.

Facts about Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE):

• The closest airport to Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE) is North Texas Regional Airport (PNX), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) E of GLE.
• Reassigned from Third Air Force in April 1944 to AAF Central Flying Training Command.
• Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE) has 2 runways.
• Because of Gainesville Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Gainesville Municipal 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 furthest airport from Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,905 miles (17,550 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The 8th Reconnaissance group was deployed to India in 1944 to support 10th and 14th Air Forces in the China-Burma-India Theater.