Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Margate Airport (MGH), Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,431 miles (or 13,568 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 Margate 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 Margate 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):

• 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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.
• 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.
• A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
• A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.

Facts about Margate Airport (MGH):

• The furthest airport from Margate Airport (MGH) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,637 miles (18,728 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Margate Airport's relatively low elevation of 495 feet, planes can take off or land at Margate 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 Margate Airport (MGH) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 84 miles (135 kilometers) N of MGH.
• Margate Airport (MGH) currently has only 1 runway.