Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Cherbourg, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Cherbourg - Maupertus Airport (CER), Cherbourg, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,852 miles (or 4,589 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 Cherbourg - Maupertus 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 Cherbourg - Maupertus 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
• Post-war, 1948, the Royal Canadian Navy took over the facility, naming it HMCS Shearwater, also known as Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Shearwater.
• 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 February 1, 1968 unification of the three service branches into the Canadian Forces saw HMCS Shearwater change its name to Canadian Forces Base Shearwater.
• 12 Wing's squadrons at Shearwater Heliport in Nova Scotia and at Patricia Bay in British Columbia currently operate the Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King but is expected to re-equip with the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone commencing in 2012 with the conclusion of the Maritime Helicopter Project.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Cherbourg - Maupertus Airport (CER):

• The enemy, however, continued to offer determined resistance and not until the following day was the airfield finally taken.
• Planes began taking off and landing despite the fact that stacked along the main runway was a pile of bombs, live shells, duds, and 600 mines lifted from the airfield.
• Cherbourg - Maupertus Airport (CER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Cherbourg - Maupertus Airport (CER) is Alderney Airport (ACI), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) W of CER.
• Because of Cherbourg - Maupertus Airport's relatively low elevation of 459 feet, planes can take off or land at Cherbourg - Maupertus 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.
• In addition to being known as "Cherbourg - Maupertus Airport", other names for CER include "Aéroport de Cherbourg - Maupertus" and "(Advanced Landing Ground A-15)".
• The furthest airport from Cherbourg - Maupertus Airport (CER) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,973 miles (19,269 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The remains of the World War II main runway are still visible just to the south of the current airport runway.