Nonstop flight route between Selma, Alabama, United States and Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SEM to YAW:
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- About this route
- SEM Airport Information
- YAW Airport Information
- Facts about SEM
- Facts about YAW
- Map of Nearest Airports to SEM
- List of Nearest Airports to SEM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SEM
- List of Furthest Airports from SEM
- 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 Craig Field (SEM), Selma, Alabama, United States and Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,519 miles (or 2,445 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 Craig Field and Shearwater Heliport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SEM / KSEM |
| Airport Name: | Craig Field |
| Location: | Selma, Alabama, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 32°20'38"N by 86°59'16"W |
| Area Served: | Selma, Alabama |
| Operator/Owner: | Craig Field Airport & Industrial Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 166 feet (51 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SEM |
| More Information: | SEM 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 Craig Field (SEM):
- Multiple civilian government and corporate tenants have taken up residency.
- Craig Field (SEM) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Craig Field's relatively low elevation of 166 feet, planes can take off or land at Craig Field 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 Craig Field (SEM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,157 miles (17,955 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Craig Field (SEM) is Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) E of SEM.
- Although the former USAF air traffic control tower at Craig Field remains standing, as of 2007 it was unmanned and non-operational, with UNICOM being used as a common traffic advisory frequency.
Facts about Shearwater Heliport (YAW):
- The Shearwater Heliport is the location of the headquarters of 12 Wing, whose sole purpose is to support and operate shipborne helicopters for the Royal Canadian Navy.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Following a base rationalization program in the mid-1990s, the Canadian Forces closed CFB Shearwater as a separate formation and realigned the property's various facilities into CFB Halifax.
- The combined land and sea-based aerodromes were used to station carrier-based maritime patrol and fighter aircraft.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
- 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 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.
