Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Sanford, Maine, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from YAW to SFM:
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- About this route
- YAW Airport Information
- SFM Airport Information
- Facts about YAW
- Facts about SFM
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- List of Furthest Airports from YAW
- Map of Nearest Airports to SFM
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- List of Furthest Airports from SFM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport (SFM), Sanford, Maine, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 368 miles (or 592 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 relatively short distance between Shearwater Heliport and Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | YAW / CYAW |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°38'13"N by 63°30'7"W |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Canada |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 144 feet (44 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from YAW |
More Information: | YAW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SFM / KSFM |
Airport Name: | Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport |
Location: | Sanford, Maine, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°23'38"N by 70°42'29"W |
Operator/Owner: | Town of Sanford |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 244 feet (74 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SFM |
More Information: | SFM Maps & Info |
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.
- Post-war, 1948, the Royal Canadian Navy took over the facility, naming it HMCS Shearwater, also known as Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Shearwater.
- The Shearwater Heliport is the location of the headquarters of 12 Wing, whose sole purpose is to support and operate shipborne helicopters for the Royal Canadian Navy.
- 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 air show moved to Yarmouth Airport in 2009 but returned to Shearwater in 2010, the first time since 2003 that an air show was held at the historic airfield.
- By the 1980s this air show came to be named the "Shearwater International Air Show" and was a popular event for military aviation enthusiasts in Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States as the location of CFB Shearwater, coupled with the popularity of the Halifax area among military aircrew, resulted in heavy international participation from the RCAF, as well as the USAF, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, Royal Air Force and numerous other NATO air forces in Europe.
- 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.
- Shearwater is the second-oldest military aerodrome in Canada.
- 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.
- During the late 1990s and early 2000s the Shearwater airfield was scaled back significantly as the facility transitioned to a heliport with surplus lands identified and transferred to Canada Lands Company.
Facts about Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport (SFM):
- Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport (SFM) has 2 runways.
- Because of Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 244 feet, planes can take off or land at Sanford Seacoast Regional 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 furthest airport from Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport (SFM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,712 miles (18,849 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport (SFM) is Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM), which is located 23 miles (36 kilometers) SSW of SFM.