Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Coto 47, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Coto 47 Airport (OTR), Coto 47, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,724 miles (or 7,602 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 Coto 47 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 Coto 47 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.

Facts about Coto 47 Airport (OTR):

• The closest airport to Coto 47 Airport (OTR) is Golfito Airport (GLF), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) WNW of OTR.
• The furthest airport from Coto 47 Airport (OTR) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Coto 47 Airport (meaning Coto 47 Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Coto 47 Airport (OTR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Coto 47 Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Coto 47 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.