Nonstop flight route between Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCB to YAW:
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- About this route
- RCB Airport Information
- YAW Airport Information
- Facts about RCB
- Facts about YAW
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCB
- List of Nearest Airports to RCB
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCB
- List of Furthest Airports from RCB
- Map of Nearest Airports to YAW
- List of Nearest Airports to YAW
- Map of Furthest Airports from YAW
- List of Furthest Airports from YAW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,842 miles (or 12,620 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 Richards Bay Airport and Shearwater Heliport, 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 Richards Bay Airport and Shearwater Heliport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCB / FARB |
Airport Name: | Richards Bay Airport |
Location: | Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°44'26"S by 32°5'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | uMhlathuze Local Municipality |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 109 feet (33 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RCB |
More Information: | RCB Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | YAW / CYAW |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°38'13"N by 63°30'7"W |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Canada |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 144 feet (44 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from YAW |
More Information: | YAW Maps & Info |
Facts about Richards Bay Airport (RCB):
- The furthest airport from Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) NNE of RCB.
- Because of Richards Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Richards Bay 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.
Facts about Shearwater Heliport (YAW):
- The furthest airport from Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,763 miles (18,931 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
- By the 1980s this air show came to be named the "Shearwater International Air Show" and was a popular event for military aviation enthusiasts in Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States as the location of CFB Shearwater, coupled with the popularity of the Halifax area among military aircrew, resulted in heavy international participation from the RCAF, as well as the USAF, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, Royal Air Force and numerous other NATO air forces in Europe.
- Canadian Forces Base Shearwater, commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater, was a Canadian Forces Base located in Shearwater, Nova Scotia on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
- The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
- Because of Shearwater Heliport's relatively low elevation of 144 feet, planes can take off or land at Shearwater Heliport 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 inconvenience of not having a ground component for the "Nova Scotia International Air Show" as a result of the Shearwater Heliport Conversion Project saw the entire event moved to Halifax Stanfield International Airport beginning in 2004.
- The February 1, 1968 unification of the three service branches into the Canadian Forces saw HMCS Shearwater change its name to Canadian Forces Base Shearwater.
- In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
- During the late 1990s and early 2000s the Shearwater airfield was scaled back significantly as the facility transitioned to a heliport with surplus lands identified and transferred to Canada Lands Company.
- These changes allowed for heliport operations including instrument approaches and were accompanied with the construction of other non-airfield facilities in support of the Maritime Helicopter Project.
- Organizers of the "Nova Scotia International Air Show" continued to make use the Shearwater airfield for both ground displays and the air show component until 2002.