Nonstop flight route between Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WRI to THU:
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- About this route
- WRI Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about WRI
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to WRI
- List of Nearest Airports to WRI
- Map of Furthest Airports from WRI
- List of Furthest Airports from WRI
- 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 McGuire AFB (WRI), Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,529 miles (or 4,070 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 McGuire AFB 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 McGuire AFB 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: | WRI / KWRI |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°0'56"N by 74°35'30"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from WRI |
| More Information: | WRI 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 McGuire AFB (WRI):
- The 305th Air Mobility Wing along with the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, 108th Air Refueling Wing, 621st Contingency Response Wing, and the 514th Air Mobility Wing, has supported every major type of air mobility mission over the past 15 years.
- SAC activated the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at the newly re-designated McGuire Air Force Base on 10 November 1948.
- On 1 June 1955, MATS moved the Eastern Transport Air Force to McGuire from Westover AFB, Massachusetts when SAC and Eighth Air Force took over.
- The furthest airport from McGuire AFB (WRI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,757 miles (18,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Military Air Transport Service took over jurisdiction of McGuire AFB on 1 July 1954 and took over the flight line of McGuire in 1956, with the ADC interceptors being reassigned.
- The closest airport to McGuire AFB (WRI) is JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) E of WRI.
- In addition to being known as "McGuire AFB", another name for WRI is "McGuire AFB/JB MDL McGuire".
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
