Nonstop flight route between Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Oakland (near San Francisco), California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada and Oakland International Airport (OAK), Oakland (near San Francisco), California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,024 miles (or 4,867 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 Oakland International 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 Oakland International 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):

• In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Post-war, 1948, the Royal Canadian Navy took over the facility, naming it HMCS Shearwater, also known as Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Shearwater.

Facts about Oakland International Airport (OAK):

• The airport's first Jet Age airline terminal designed by John Carl Warnecke & Associates was opened in 1962, part of a $20 million expansion on bay fill that included 10000-ft runway 11/29.
• Even at the completion of these projects, there is already demand driving the need for additional infrastructure improvements.
• Because of Oakland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Oakland International 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.
• During the Vietnam War, World Airways shuttled thousands of military passengers through Oakland to their bases in Southeast Asia, and an International Arrivals facility was built, allowing the airport to handle international flights for the first time.
• The closest airport to Oakland International Airport (OAK) is Hayward Executive Airport (HWD), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SE of OAK.
• The furthest airport from Oakland International Airport (OAK) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,354 miles (18,273 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Oakland International Airport (OAK) has 4 runways.
• United Airlines vacated its 300,000 sq ft Oakland Maintenance Center in May 2003 and transferred work to its base at San Francisco International Airport.