Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando), United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to SFB:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- SFB Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about SFB
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SFB
- List of Nearest Airports to SFB
- Map of Furthest Airports from SFB
- List of Furthest Airports from SFB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB), Sanford, Florida (near Orlando), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,325 miles (or 5,352 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 Orlando/Sanford International Airport, 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 Orlando/Sanford International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | THU / BGTL |
Airport Names: |
|
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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SFB / KSFB |
Airport Name: | Orlando/Sanford International Airport |
Location: | Sanford, Florida (near Orlando), United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°46'40"N by 81°14'14"W |
Area Served: | Orlando, Florida |
Operator/Owner: | Sanford Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 55 feet (17 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from SFB |
More Information: | SFB Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- 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.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
Facts about Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB):
- Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) has 4 runways.
- The furthest airport from Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,507 miles (18,518 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
- Due to flight training, the airport is consistently in the top 30 busiest airports in the world in terms of total flight operations.
- The closest airport to Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) is Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) SSW of SFB.
- Additional name changes followed, to include Sanford Regional Airport, Central Florida Regional Airport, Orlando Sanford Regional Airport and the current Orlando Sanford International Airport.
- In 2010 Allegiant Air announced it was moving many flights to larger and more centrally located Orlando International Airport to compete with AirTran Airways.
- Because of Orlando/Sanford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at Orlando/Sanford International 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.