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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and South Naknek Airport (WSN), South Naknek, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,780 miles (or 6,083 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 South Naknek 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 South Naknek 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):

• The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
• 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.
• Shearwater is the second-oldest military aerodrome in Canada.
• By 2002 only runway 10/28 remained open.
• 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.
• 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.
• Post-war, 1948, the Royal Canadian Navy took over the facility, naming it HMCS Shearwater, also known as Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Shearwater.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 South Naknek Airport (WSN):

• The furthest airport from South Naknek Airport (WSN) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,730 miles (17,269 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, this airport had 330 commercial passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, a decrease of 19% from the 409 enplanements in 2007.
• Because of South Naknek Airport's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at South Naknek 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.
• South Naknek Airport (WSN) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "South Naknek Airport", another name for WSN is "South Naknek Nr 2 Airport".
• The closest airport to South Naknek Airport (WSN) is Naknek Airport (NNK), which is located only 2 miles (4 kilometers) NNW of WSN.