Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Lebakeng, Lesotho:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to LEF:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- LEF Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about LEF
- 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 LEF
- List of Nearest Airports to LEF
- Map of Furthest Airports from LEF
- List of Furthest Airports from LEF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Lebakeng Airport (LEF), Lebakeng, Lesotho would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,339 miles (or 13,421 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 Lebakeng 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 Lebakeng 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: | LEF / FXLK |
| Airport Name: | Lebakeng Airport |
| Location: | Lebakeng, Lesotho |
| GPS Coordinates: | 29°53'26"S by 28°39'20"E |
| Area Served: | Lebakeng |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6040 feet (1,841 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from LEF |
| More Information: | LEF Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
Facts about Lebakeng Airport (LEF):
- The closest airport to Lebakeng Airport (LEF) is Lesobeng Airport (LES), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) WNW of LEF.
- Because of Lebakeng Airport's high elevation of 6,040 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LEF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LEF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Lebakeng Airport (LEF) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,744 miles (18,900 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- Lebakeng Airport (LEF) currently has only 1 runway.
