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.
Why can’t you fly a plane directly south?
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 fly east to west and not north to south?
The reason for quicker flights while flying eastwards are jet streams. Put simply, they are fast-flowing, narrow air currents in the atmosphere found at high altitudes.
Can you fly north to south?
(CNN) — You might think circling the globe by airplane is no big deal anymore. But you’d be wrong. Surprisingly, circumnavigating the world via the North Pole to the South Pole in an airliner is a feat accomplished only three times.
Why are planes not allowed to fly over the North Pole?
Yet, flying directly over the North Pole is extremely difficult and uncommon due to the dangerous climate conditions in the North Pole, and the region’s complete lack of infrastructure. Plane’s depend on infrastructure like air control towers and airports, which the North Pole lack.
Why do planes not fly over the Pacific Ocean?
The Pacific Ocean is a massive body of water that will require an extremely large amount of fuel to fly across. Rather than flying directly across the Pacific Ocean, most commercial flights take curved routes because they are actually shorter than shooting straight across a distance.
Why can’t planes fly over Disney?
The sky over Disneyland in Anaheim and Walt Disney World in Orlando is “national defense airspace.” Intentionally violating Mickey and Minnie’s airspace, the alerts warn, could result in interception, interrogation and federal prosecution.
Why do planes not fly directly over the Atlantic Ocean?
1. Distance Consideration. Airlines prefer flying over “curved” routes over land instead of traversing oceans. Curved routes over land are generally shorter than straight routes over the ocean.
What is the longest flight in the world?
The longest flight in the world by distance is New York (JFK) to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Airlines clocking in at 9,537 miles.
Do planes fly over Atlantic Ocean?
A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or vice versa. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, balloons and other aircraft.
Why are we not allowed to go to Antarctica?
Due to harsh conditions, extreme weather and no permanent population on the continent there are no regular passenger flights to Antarctica.
Has anyone went around the world from north to south?
Remarkably, one of the great remaining “firsts” had still not been achieved by 1979. No one had yet completed a surface circumnavigation of the globe, taking in both the North and South poles – a journey of some 100,000 miles (160,000 km).
Why is it quicker to fly south to north?
When an airplane is moving in the same direction as the wind, it will travel faster because it is getting that welcome boost of tailwind. When an airplane is travelling opposite the wind direction, however, it will get that drag resulting in a slower travelling speed.
Has a plane ever crashed from turbulence?
The short answer is no, and rest assured that the pilots know how uncomfortable turbulence can make passengers feel. And know that no aircraft has ever crashed because of turbulence. “Turbulence has not caused an airplane to crash,” Biddle said. “Airplanes are built very sturdily.
Why can’t pilots fly over Antarctica?
Antarctica has generally poor visibility due to snowfall and whiteouts. It’s also extremely dangerous for planes to fly under snowfall. Pilots have to maintain constant contact with ground authorities to ensure proper flight path and trajectory.
What happens if you fly over Antarctica?
Antarctica is not considered a no-fly zone because it is not illegal to fly over Antarctica. However, there is no reason to fly over Antarctica because it is not in the way to any airports and because it is not an independent country.
What is a ghost flight?
A “ghost flight” occurs when airlines continue to fly routes despite having no passengers on board. A lot has been heard about these flights, both during and even before the pandemic, but why exactly do they happen?
Can a plane fly over Mount Everest?
Tim Morgan, a commercial pilot writing for Quora says aircraft can fly above 40,000 feet, and hence it is possible to fly over Mount Everest which stands at 29,031.69 feet. However, typical flight routes do not travel above Mount Everest as the mountains create unforgiving weather.
What happens when a plane flies too high?
If a passenger jet flies too high, it reaches a point called ‘Coffin Corner’. This is the point at which the aircraft’s low speed stall and high-speed buffet meet and the plane can no longer maintain its altitude which forces it to descend.
How long can an airline pilot fly in a day?
8 hours
Flight times within the duty periods are restricted to a maximum of 8 hours for flight crews consisting of one pilot and 10 hours for flight crews consisting of two pilots. The 8-hour and 10-hour flight time limitations include any additional commercial flying performed by the flight crew during the period.
Is Taj Mahal a no-fly zone?
Despite the Taj airspace being a ‘no-fly zone’, there have been several incidents of drone-flying in the area reported over the last few years.