Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Imperial, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to IPL:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- IPL Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about IPL
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to IPL
- List of Nearest Airports to IPL
- Map of Furthest Airports from IPL
- List of Furthest Airports from IPL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Imperial County Airport (IPL), Imperial, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,359 miles (or 5,406 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 Imperial County 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 Imperial County Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | THU / BGTL |
| Airport Names: |
|
| 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | IPL / KIPL |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Imperial, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 32°50'3"N by 115°34'42"W |
| Area Served: | Imperial / El Centro |
| Operator/Owner: | Imperial County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | -54 feet (-16 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from IPL |
| More Information: | IPL Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- Thule Air Base is the U.S.
- Thule Air Base is also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Thule." The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
Facts about Imperial County Airport (IPL):
- In addition to being known as "Imperial County Airport", another name for IPL is "Boley Field".
- The furthest airport from Imperial County Airport (IPL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,531 miles (18,557 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The airport is located one nautical mile south of the central business district of Imperial, California, partially in the City of Imperial and partially in an unincorporated area of Imperial County.
- Its first airline flights were Bonanza DC-3s about 1953.
- Imperial County Airport (IPL) has 2 runways.
- Because of Imperial County Airport's relatively low elevation of -54 feet, planes can take off or land at Imperial County 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 Imperial County Airport (IPL) is Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) W of IPL.
