Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Doha, Qatar:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD), Doha, Qatar would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,108 miles (or 9,830 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 Al-Udeid Air Base, 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 Al-Udeid Air Base. 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.
• 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.
• Post-war, 1948, the Royal Canadian Navy took over the facility, naming it HMCS Shearwater, also known as Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Shearwater.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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 Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD):

• Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Al Udeid Air Base now serves as a logistics, command, and basing hub for U.S.
• The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 authorizes $117 million in FY2010 spending to build new Air Force recreational, dormitory, and other facilities at Al Udeid.
• The FY2012 request includes $37 million to continue the dormitory and recreation facility project.
• The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 authorized $81.7 million in FY2008 spending to build new Air Force and Special Operations facilities in Qatar.
• The closest airport to Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD) is Hamad International Airport (DOH), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) ENE of IUD.
• Because of Al-Udeid Air Base's relatively low elevation of 130 feet, planes can take off or land at Al-Udeid Air Base 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 "Al-Udeid Air Base", other names for IUD include "قاعدة العديد الجوية" and "XJD".
• The furthest airport from Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to Al-Udeid Air Base (meaning Al-Udeid Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,021 miles (19,346 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Al Udeid and other facilities in Qatar serve as logistics, command, and basing hubs for the U.S.
• Following Australia's formal withdraw of forces from Iraq and to upon Afghanistan in 2008, the air bridge for operations in the Middle East was re-located to Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.