Nonstop flight route between Visalia, California, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS), Visalia, California, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,177 miles (or 5,113 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 Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield 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 Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield and Thule Air Base. 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 Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS):

• Unlike the construction of other military airfields of World War II, Visalia Army Airfield seems to have used the existing municipal airport.
• The closest airport to Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS) is Mefford Field (TLR), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of VIS.
• In all phases, Visalia AAF was used as a satellite training site.
• The furthest airport from Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,355 miles (18,274 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 295 feet, planes can take off or land at Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield 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.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.