Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Gush Katif, Israel:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK), Gush Katif, Israel would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,081 miles (or 8,178 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif 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):

• 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.
• Shearwater is the second-oldest military aerodrome in Canada.
• 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.
• 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.
• Post-war, 1948, the Royal Canadian Navy took over the facility, naming it HMCS Shearwater, also known as Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Shearwater.
• 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.
• 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK):

• After the 1948 Palestinian exodus 35,000 refugees took shelter in a camp to the south of the present day airfield.
• The furthest airport from Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The UNRWA Khan Younis refugee camp is adjacent to and south of the airfield, and the UNRWA Khan Younis Vocational Training Centre, built in 2007, is immediately south of the runway.
• Because of Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport's relatively low elevation of 107 feet, planes can take off or land at Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) is Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) S of GHK.