Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Comayagua, Honduras:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from YAW to XPL:
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- About this route
- YAW Airport Information
- XPL Airport Information
- Facts about YAW
- Facts about XPL
- Map of Nearest Airports to YAW
- List of Nearest Airports to YAW
- Map of Furthest Airports from YAW
- List of Furthest Airports from YAW
- Map of Nearest Airports to XPL
- List of Nearest Airports to XPL
- Map of Furthest Airports from XPL
- List of Furthest Airports from XPL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Soto Cano Air Base (XPL), Comayagua, Honduras would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,523 miles (or 4,061 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 Soto Cano 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 Soto Cano Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | XPL / MHSC |
Airport Name: | Soto Cano Air Base |
Location: | Comayagua, Honduras |
GPS Coordinates: | 14°22'57"N by 87°37'15"W |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 2060 feet (628 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XPL |
More Information: | XPL Maps & Info |
Facts about Shearwater Heliport (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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
- 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 February 1, 1968 unification of the three service branches into the Canadian Forces saw HMCS Shearwater change its name to Canadian Forces Base Shearwater.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
Facts about Soto Cano Air Base (XPL):
- Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The American contingent at Soto Cano Air Base is designated Joint Task Force-Bravo and consists of both U.S.
- Plans call for the construction to take place over the coming years with all base facilities to either be new construction, or receive major upgrades.
- In addition to the Honduran Air Force Academy, the US military's Joint Task Force Bravo is headquartered at Soto Cano.
- The furthest airport from Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Soto Cano Air Base (meaning Soto Cano Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- The closest airport to Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) is Marcala Airport (MRJ), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) WSW of XPL.