Nonstop flight route between Yakima, Washington, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from YKM to THU:
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- About this route
- YKM Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about YKM
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to YKM
- List of Nearest Airports to YKM
- Map of Furthest Airports from YKM
- List of Furthest Airports from YKM
- 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 Yakima Air Terminal (YKM), Yakima, Washington, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,513 miles (or 4,045 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 Yakima Air Terminal 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 Yakima Air Terminal 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: | YKM / KYKM |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Yakima, Washington, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 46°34'5"N by 120°32'39"W |
| Area Served: | Yakima, Washington |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Yakima |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 1099 feet (335 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from YKM |
| More Information: | YKM 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 Yakima Air Terminal (YKM):
- In addition to being known as "Yakima Air Terminal", another name for YKM is "McAllister Field".
- Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) has 2 runways.
- Yakima Air Terminal covers 825 acres at an elevation of 1,099 feet above mean sea level.
- During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces.
- The closest airport to Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) is Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of YKM.
- The furthest airport from Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,797 miles (17,377 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- 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.
