Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Shelton, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Sanderson Field (SHN), Shelton, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,508 miles (or 4,037 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 Sanderson Field, 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 Sanderson Field. 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):

• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Thule Air Base is the U.S.

Facts about Sanderson Field (SHN):

• Because of Sanderson Field's relatively low elevation of 273 feet, planes can take off or land at Sanderson Field 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 furthest airport from Sanderson Field (SHN) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,810 miles (17,397 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Sanderson Field (SHN) is Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of SHN.
• Services at Sanderson include minor airframe and powerplant repair by Olympic Air.
• Sanderson Field (SHN) currently has only 1 runway.