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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and McGrath Airport (MCG), McGrath, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,602 miles (or 5,796 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 McGrath 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 McGrath 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):

• 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.
• 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 combined land and sea-based aerodromes were used to station carrier-based maritime patrol and fighter aircraft.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about McGrath Airport (MCG):

• The closest airport to McGrath Airport (MCG) is Tatalina LRRS Airport (TLJ), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) WSW of MCG.
• In addition to being known as "McGrath Airport", another name for MCG is "(formerly McGrath Army Airbase)".
• The furthest airport from McGrath Airport (MCG) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,435 miles (16,793 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• McGrath Airport (MCG) has 2 runways.
• As per the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport had 5,278 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 4,893 in 2009, and 5,242 in 2010.
• Because of McGrath Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at McGrath 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.