Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Salida, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Harriet Alexander Field (SLT), Salida, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,857 miles (or 4,597 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 Harriet Alexander 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 Harriet Alexander 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):

• On 21 January 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress from the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York on a secret airborne nuclear alert crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air Base.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Harriet Alexander Field (SLT):

• Harriet Alexander Field (SLT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Harriet Alexander Field (SLT) is Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) W of SLT.
• Because of Harriet Alexander Field's high elevation of 7,523 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Harriet Alexander Field", another name for SLT is "ANK".
• The furthest airport from Harriet Alexander Field (SLT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,993 miles (17,691 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In the year ending April 20, 2006 the airport had 9,653 aircraft operations, 99.5% general aviation and 0.5% military.