Nonstop flight route between Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NBW to YAW:
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- About this route
- NBW Airport Information
- YAW Airport Information
- Facts about NBW
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- Map of Nearest Airports to NBW
- List of Nearest Airports to NBW
- Map of Furthest Airports from NBW
- List of Furthest Airports from NBW
- Map of Nearest Airports to YAW
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About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,835 miles (or 2,953 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 relatively short distance between United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and Shearwater Heliport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | NBW / KNBW |
| Airport Name: | United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay |
| Location: | Guantanamo Bay, Cuba |
| GPS Coordinates: | 19°53'59"N by 75°9'0"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from NBW |
| More Information: | NBW 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW):
- The furthest airport from United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
- On 10 June 2006, the Department of Defense reported that three Guantanamo Bay detainees committed suicide.
- The closest airport to United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of NBW.
- Since 1939, the base's water had been supplied by pipelines that drew water from the Yateras River about 4.5 miles northeast of the base.
- In 2005, the Navy completed a $12 million wind project erecting four wind turbines capable of supplying about a quarter of the base's peak power needs, reducing diesel fuel usage and pollution from the existing diesel generators, while saving $1.2 million in annual energy costs.
- Leeward Point of the Naval Station is the site of the active airfield.
- Since 2002, the naval base has contained a military prison, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, for alleged unlawful combatants captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places.
Facts about Shearwater Heliport (YAW):
- 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.
- The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
- Base rationalization and defence budget cutbacks for the Canadian Forces during the mid-1990s saw a largely administrative move when the formation CFB Shearwater stood down and the facilities transferred to the formation CFB Halifax and aircraft operations becoming the responsibility of newly formed 12 Wing.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- As part of the heliport conversion project, the old runway 16/34 was permanently closed and placed outside of a new fence for the Shearwater Heliport, as shown in the Canada Flight Supplement effective 31 July 2008.
- Defence cutbacks and unit and facility realignments from 1994 to 1996 saw CFB Shearwater stand down as a separate formation and the facility merged as an airfield attached to CFB Halifax.
- Shearwater Heliport's primary mission remains as a heliport in support of the Royal Canadian Navy's Maritime Forces Atlantic warships with shipborne helicopters operated by 12 Wing, a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
- In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
