Nonstop flight route between Gbangbatok, Sierra Leone and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GBK to THU:
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- About this route
- GBK Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about GBK
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to GBK
- List of Nearest Airports to GBK
- Map of Furthest Airports from GBK
- List of Furthest Airports from GBK
- 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 Gbangbatok Airport (GBK), Gbangbatok, Sierra Leone and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,177 miles (or 8,331 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 Gbangbatok 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 Gbangbatok 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: | GBK / GFGK |
Airport Name: | Gbangbatok Airport |
Location: | Gbangbatok, Sierra Leone |
GPS Coordinates: | 7°48'45"N by 12°22'40"W |
Area Served: | Gbangbatok |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 75 feet (23 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GBK |
More Information: | GBK 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 Gbangbatok Airport (GBK):
- The furthest airport from Gbangbatok Airport (GBK) is Mota Lava Airport (MTV), which is nearly antipodal to Gbangbatok Airport (meaning Gbangbatok Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mota Lava Airport), and is located 12,032 miles (19,364 kilometers) away in Mota Lava, Vanuatu.
- Because of Gbangbatok Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Gbangbatok 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 closest airport to Gbangbatok Airport (GBK) is Sherbro International Airport (BTE), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSW of GBK.
- Gbangbatok Airport (GBK) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.