Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Sweetwater, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Avenger Field (SWW), Sweetwater, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,209 miles (or 5,164 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 Avenger 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 Avenger 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):

• After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Henrik Kauffmann Danish Ambassador to the United States, made an agreement "In the name of the king" with the United States authorizing the United States to defend the Danish colonies on Greenland from German aggression - this agreement faced Kaufmann with a charge of high treason.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• In 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.

Facts about Avenger Field (SWW):

• In addition to being known as "Avenger Field", another name for SWW is "(former Avenger Army Airfield)".
• As a Texas World War II Army Airfield, "Avenger Field" opened in August 1941 as a United States Army Air Forces training base of the AAF Flying Training Command, Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Center.
• Avenger Field (SWW) has 2 runways.
• Avenger Field remained a WASP training base until it closed in December 1944.
• The furthest airport from Avenger Field (SWW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,107 miles (17,874 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Avenger Field (SWW) is Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) E of SWW.
• In 1963 the AN/FPS-6A evolved into an AN/FPS-90, and on July 31, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-89.