Nonstop flight route between Center Island, Washington, United States and Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CWS to YAW:
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- About this route
- CWS Airport Information
- YAW Airport Information
- Facts about CWS
- Facts about YAW
- Map of Nearest Airports to CWS
- List of Nearest Airports to CWS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CWS
- List of Furthest Airports from CWS
- 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 Center Island Airport (CWS), Center Island, Washington, United States and Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,760 miles (or 4,441 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 Center Island 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 Center Island 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: | CWS / |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Center Island, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 48°29'24"N by 122°49'54"W |
Operator/Owner: | Center Island Association |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 115 feet (35 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CWS |
More Information: | CWS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | YAW / CYAW |
Airport Names: |
|
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 Center Island Airport (CWS):
- In addition to being known as "Center Island Airport", another name for CWS is "78WA".
- Because of Center Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 115 feet, planes can take off or land at Center Island 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 Center Island Airport (CWS) is Fishermans Bay/LPS Seaplane Base (LPS), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) WNW of CWS.
- Center Island Airport (CWS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Center Island Airport (CWS) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,724 miles (17,259 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
Facts about Shearwater Heliport (YAW):
- The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of 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.
- 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.
- The air show moved to Yarmouth Airport in 2009 but returned to Shearwater in 2010, the first time since 2003 that an air show was held at the historic airfield.
- Beginning in the 1970s, CFB Shearwater began hosting an Armed Forces Day every fall, typically on the weekend following Labour Day, and included an air show where the long and wide runways at Shearwater hosted some of the largest aircraft in the world, including the U.S.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
- 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 February 1, 1968 unification of the three service branches into the Canadian Forces saw HMCS Shearwater change its name to Canadian Forces Base Shearwater.