Why do planes not fly in straight line?

The reason for this is that the earth revolves on its axis, forcing the middle to bulge out slightly. The curvature of the earth and its extra equatorial width mean that curving towards the poles is a shorter distance than flying in a straight line.

Why do planes not fly straight across the Pacific?

The primary reason airplanes don’t fly over the Pacific Ocean is because curved routes are shorter than straight routes. Flat maps are somewhat confusing because the Earth itself isn’t flat. Rather, it’s spherical. As a result, straight routes don’t offer the shortest distance between two locations.

Why do planes look like they fly sideways?

When an aircraft is flying, the wind will push the aircraft in the direction it is blowing. This is known as ‘Drift’. The stronger the wind, the more the drift will be. Aircraft always try to land into wind as it helps with the aerodynamics of the aircraft and increases its performance for free.

Can a plane fly around the equator?

Yes – but only in theory. The Earth is roughly 40,000km in circumference at the equator, and completes one rotation every 24 hours. In theory, a supersonic jet could manage it, but even then in-flight refuelling and speed restrictions over land would reduce the effective speed well below what’s needed.

Why do airplanes not fly over Antarctica?

Why don’t planes fly over Antarctica? The White Continent does not have much in the way of infrastructure and herein lies why planes do not fly over it. Something called ETOPS (Extended Operations) governs how far from an emergency diversion airport certain aircraft are allowed to fly, according to its model.

Why do planes land nose up?

Even if main landing gears are inteded to support most of weight of an aircraft, direct touch down without slowing down aircraft can damage main landing gear & cause crash. So by moving aircraft nose up pilot increases angle of attack of wings. This increases lift to aircraft and slows down aircraft.

Do airplanes land into the wind?

As any experienced pilot knows, planes take off into the wind. But with a 30 mph headwind, the plane only needs to reach 150 mph. So in essence, taking off into the wind provides additional lift, helping to rise the plane and allow it to takeoff more quickly.

Why do planes fly in a curved path?

The curvature of the earth and its extra equatorial width mean that curving towards the poles is a shorter distance than flying in a straight line. Another criteria airlines use for determining flight paths are air currents known as the jet stream.

Why do some planes fly north and some fly south?

If there are strong winds, the eastbound tracks will be farther north to take advantage of them, while the westbound flights will be routed south to avoid the headwinds. Tracks can also be altered to avoid conditions such as volcanic ash clouds. The direct answer to your question is that it is usually because of the winds/jetstream.

Why do planes fly on the Earth’s axis?

Because the Earth revolves on its axis, this forces the equator to “bulge out” and be wider. Despite what some theories suggest, the Earth is not flat, and so curvature becomes an incredibly important factor in routes aircraft take.

Why is the great circle route shorter than a straight line?

Answer: It is shorter to fly the Great Circle route than a straight line due to the circumference of the earth being so much greater at the equator than near the poles. Q: Captain, I often follow trans-Atlantic flights between Europe and the USA.