Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Adak Island, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Adak Airport (ADK), Adak Island, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,675 miles (or 7,523 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 Shearwater Heliport and Adak Airport, 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 Shearwater Heliport and Adak Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

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 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 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 combined land and sea-based aerodromes were used to station carrier-based maritime patrol and fighter aircraft.
• By 2002 only runway 10/28 remained open.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
• 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.

Facts about Adak Airport (ADK):

• Once an American Airlines Boeing 777-200 from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport en route to Tokyo Narita diverted to Adak Airport due to a fire warning in the cargo hold.
• As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 1,989 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,907 in 2009, and 2,097 in 2010.
• Adak Airport (ADK) has 2 runways.
• Because of Adak Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Adak 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.
• Adak Airport is a state owned, public use airport located west of Adak, on Adak Island in the U.S.
• Adak Airport resides at elevation of 18 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Adak Airport (ADK) is Atka Airport (AKB), which is located 106 miles (171 kilometers) ENE of ADK.
• The furthest airport from Adak Airport (ADK) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,985 miles (17,679 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.