Nonstop flight route between Buchanan, Liberia and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from UCN to THU:
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- About this route
- UCN Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about UCN
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to UCN
- List of Nearest Airports to UCN
- Map of Furthest Airports from UCN
- List of Furthest Airports from UCN
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Buchanan Airport (UCN), Buchanan, Liberia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,338 miles (or 8,590 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 Buchanan Airport and Thule Air Base, 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 Buchanan Airport and Thule Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | UCN / GLBU |
| Airport Name: | Buchanan Airport |
| Location: | Buchanan, Liberia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 5°54'15"N by 10°3'29"W |
| Area Served: | Buchanan |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 41 feet (12 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from UCN |
| More Information: | UCN Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Buchanan Airport (UCN):
- Buchanan Airport (UCN) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Buchanan Airport's relatively low elevation of 41 feet, planes can take off or land at Buchanan 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.
- The furthest airport from Buchanan Airport (UCN) is Nauru International Airport (INU), which is nearly antipodal to Buchanan Airport (meaning Buchanan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Nauru International Airport), and is located 12,012 miles (19,331 kilometers) away in Yaren, Nauru.
- The closest airport to Buchanan Airport (UCN) is Roberts International Airport Roberts Field (ROB), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NW of UCN.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- 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 closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- The Pentagon maintained that all four weapons had been destroyed.
- 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.
- 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.
