Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Richland, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to RLD:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- RLD Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about RLD
- 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 RLD
- List of Nearest Airports to RLD
- Map of Furthest Airports from RLD
- List of Furthest Airports from RLD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Richland Airport (RLD), Richland, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,512 miles (or 4,043 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 Richland 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 Richland 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: |
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| 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: | RLD / KRLD |
| Airport Name: | Richland Airport |
| Location: | Richland, Washington, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 46°18'20"N by 119°18'15"W |
| Area Served: | Richland, Washington |
| Operator/Owner: | Port of Benton |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 394 feet (120 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RLD |
| More Information: | RLD Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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.
- After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- 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 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
Facts about Richland Airport (RLD):
- The furthest airport from Richland Airport (RLD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,783 miles (17,353 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Richland Airport (RLD) is Tri-Cities Airport (PSC), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of RLD.
- For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2007, the airport had 29,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 79 per day.
- Because of Richland Airport's relatively low elevation of 394 feet, planes can take off or land at Richland 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.
- Richland Airport (RLD) has 2 runways.
