Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and San Bernardino, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,906 miles (or 4,677 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 Norton Air Force 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 Norton Air Force 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):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Organizers of the "Nova Scotia International Air Show" continued to make use the Shearwater airfield for both ground displays and the air show component until 2002.

Facts about Norton Air Force Base (SBD):

• Norton was placed on the Department of Defense's base closure list in 1989.
• A base railroad system interchanged with the Pacific Electric/Southern Pacific branch line on the south side of the installation.
• For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility for a variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies as part of Air Materiel/Air Force Logistics Command, then as part of Military Airlift/Air Mobility Command.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
• During World War II, San Bernardino Army Airfield provided administrative and logistical support for the United States Army Desert Training Center.
• The furthest airport from Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,447 miles (18,423 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is San Bernardino International Airport (SBT), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) S of SBD.