Specially in long flights, ¿becauseé airplanes don't fly in líthe right one? A very interesting answer, I surely told youías askedás at once.
a few days agoías, on the occasion of the flights Qantas Sunrise Project a reader asked me an interesting question regarding the route that these operations and other long-haul flights take.
The lólogic tells us that the point más close between two points is a líthe right one, but the reality is that when you fly, this reasoning does not apply.
Great Circle Navigation
Commercial airliners generally fly in a líthe right one (if we see it from above) call big círculo.
The big cícircle is the distance más cuts between any two points on the earth. Aircraft fly along the líheading line (curved route) if there are no navigation aidsón by radio on the ground and alsoén when he is notá equipped with the Position Systemón Global (GPS) or the Navigation Systemón Inertial (INS).
What appears on a map or flat surface as a lístraight line is not the distance más cuts between two points. This is because the earth is not flat, but it is a sphere. Therefore, the distance más cuts between two points on a sphere is an arc rather than a straight, constant course.
With this explanationón, I saw oneón can't fly on itíthe right one, since if an avión take offá with fixed straight heading of 090°, jamás arriveíto to the straight destiny raised, by the same curvature of the earth that willíto deviate and will haveíto constantly correct your course to reach the other point.
Navigationón loxodrómica and orthodrómica
What we have explained above is explained in a few somewhat simpler words.ácomplex s that we useó one of the readers to explain this phenomenonóless:
The línea loxodrómica cuts the meridians by the same áthat's it, is the trajectory más long. The ortodrómica, is the wayás short given the form esférich of the earth.
Very simple, The meridians narrow at the Poles and widen at the líequator line, ¿okay? For this reason, you usually go to the Northern Hemisphere, and then go down if we go to New York, for instance.
If an airplane takes off from point A and follows a straight path in airspace, will not arrive directly at the same point A on the Earth's surface due to the curvature of our planet. This is because the Earth is spherical and not flat..
When an airplane flies in a straight line, It is actually following an arc on the curved surface of the Earth. If it continued flying in that straight path, would eventually reach a different point on the earth's surface.
To illustrate this, You can imagine a straight line that crosses the globe from point A to point B. If you follow that line on the surface of the Earth, you will notice that it forms an arc along the globe. Therefore, to return to point A after flying in a straight line, The plane would have to adjust its course to follow the curvature of the Earth and make a complete circle around the globe before reaching the starting point again..
In practice, Commercial flights typically follow curved routes known as Great Circle routes. (Great Circle), which are the shortest routes in terms of distance on the spherical surface of the Earth. These routes take into account the curvature of the Earth and allow for more efficient navigation.
In summary, due to the curvature of the Earth, An airplane that takes off from a point and follows a straight path will not arrive directly at the same starting point, but will form an arc along the curved surface of our planet.
excellent contribution, Thank you.
you are very right friend, height remains constant relative to the ground.
I don't understand this explanation. I think they really travel in a straight line, at least physically on the sphere, but they don't do it on paper, a 2D map, where if that straight line is translated it results in a curve due to the representation of the map to plane. This is so?
Remember that the planet is not a perfect sphere, es “attached at the poles” so flying straight is not possible and course correction occurs during the flight.
I would like you to clarify a doubt… If an airplane takes off from point A and goes straight. Could I get to that same point A? My doubt is about the sphere (land). Thanks
Hello Keiber, no, if the plane takes off from point A and flies straight without course correction, will never reach the same starting point A again.
For the friend who says that the water of the oceans should fall over the edges if the planet were spherical. I started with a big mistake because that water is not contained “in a container”.that water is “attached” to a central nucleus that attracts it by gravity. It is more, If the planet were completely covered by ocean water, it would still form a sphere.. Try this one. Drop a drop of water from a tall building and film it as it falls., in slow motion, and you will see that the drop is spherical. The liquid planet is a large drop in free fall.
Plana? , and the changes of day and night who turns the page. LOL. The only good thing is that with that way of thinking he would have burned the inquisition
Hello, only to understand why it forms a parabola is why they maintain an average altitude to the earth.
I had understood that they don't fly in a straight line either, for example in the Atlantic because by regulation they always have to be less than an hour from a landing strip..
That's called ETOP.
I see you haven't posted my answer, very reasonable, and written yesterday. Didn't you like it?? what happened then? I hope you write me/thank you
Hi Ricardo, your comment is approved.
Hello there https://www.nlarenas.com/,
Hello Nicolas Larenas, Since this is neither a doctoral thesis nor even a course for pilots, well your explanation is very good.
(I am not a navigator)
But if we wanted to curl the loop, so your explanation is wrong
Although, of course you know this.
Yes, for a long flight +10,000 km. we look in a sphere globe the shortest route, especially in the same hemisphere,
(In the terrestrial globe we click two pins on points of departure and destination, we pass a thread between pins and
The planes do not follow the route marked by the thread.
various reasons, the earth is not exactly a sphere, avoid other traffic, avoid adverse weather conditions . . .
It is better not to answer flat earthers. they know more than us.
Thanks for your contribution Jose., very good without a doubt.
we are confusing two things. Always, absolutely always, between two points in space the line will be “the shortest distance”. It will still be like this in a sphere. Do not confuse distance with “the route” to follow. When there are obstacles, and here they are, whoever travels will make his journey more convenient, since already curved.
So a flight let's say
Colombia, Somalia, Singapoor if you would be traveling in a straight line?
It is equatorial line.
Not really, the plane would do the same “a rise or fall”.
I have almost 11 year in the aeronautical branch and you are right airplanes do not fly in a straight line they fly and land on a convergent line …
If someone does not understand technicalities and wants to understand it easily, Buy yourself a globe of the world and you will be able to verify that to travel for example from Moscow to Vancouver there is less distance if you fly over polar zones.
It is interesting to think about the flat earth
Does anyone know why the earth revolves around the sun?
Because the stars are always the same?
We should not see others when we are on the opposite side of the sun?
You never see the same stars or planet in the same place, it rotates.
Indeed there is “a few stars” that being closer changes its apparent position in the sky. This allows you to measure your distances by parallax using the fixed background.. The rest of the stellar objects are so far from us that they do not seem to change their position.. It is as if you wanted to see the change of position of a person thousands of km if you move only one meter.
very good explanation, Thank you.
It is a very clear explanation for flat-earthers that the earth is spherical..
I can't believe that comment and the argument of a pilot. It is clear that when you give the height to an airplane eg. 33 thousand feet, the plane makes the corrections alone…
And if the earth is flat, well the moon too…
But the pilots say they fly in the straight line
When do they say?
I am an airplane pilot , and when I planned a route I never made a circle , go through the places that were on the trace …stop trying to convince in the sphericity of the earth , If the earth were spherical, we would have to correct the height of the plane every certain distance, otherwise we would go very high …they did not think ???
Hello Sergio and base of your argument, as a pilot, you could see for example Everest or Chimborazo from anywhere in the world, since the earth is flat under your concept?
Bet you didn't even see it from Dubai. That in theory it would be seen because I see the popocatepetl from the state of Hidalgo, but I do not look at it from the Veracruz coast if the land were flat and being such a high point I think it would be seen…. My humble opinion.
But we don't even have bionic eyes
the truth,, I'm surprised there are people who think the earth is flat, bahh,, yes with the Mercator projection yes of course it is flat !!
is this why Percator repudiated Mercator
abandoned on earth the twist-breaking baby
on the story
on takeoff the plane goes up goes up goes up ! until 8000 for Kerosene saving keeps this altitude relative to the earth's ground surface (speed bump or curve …) then on approach it makes its descent
go down go down go down until you land.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 genius!!!
flat earthers here? Seriously?
Go to taringa or one of those forums.
If so, why did you lose the VOR signal??
(because of the distance)
If you are an airplane pilot, I am a nuclear physicist!
Are you a pilot? Please comment which airline you fly with, to never buy tickets there.
I am very surprised that you are an airplane pilot and you still think that the earth is flat when the sphericity of the planet is perfectly observed from the height
Very true and it is not necessary to climb many feet
Good morning, could you tell me to what height you have reached and seen the sphericity of which you speak??
In addition, the height of the flight is in relation to the surface of the earth and the height remains constant whether the earth is round or flat.. It seems that the one who did not think about it is you or you are only a Flight Simulator pilot?
you are very right friend, height remains constant relative to the ground.
You fly at an altitude with reference to the standard atmosphere so it is not a reference to justify that the earth is not ovoid!
aver friend the planes when they reach a certain altitude, The density of the air is not enough to maintain lift., What is the main force that keeps airplanes in flight?(if you are a pilot you should know this is 1st year high school physics)
I think you make a mistake by seeing it that way.. Airplanes fly at a constant height without the need to correct it. (if other parameters of the equation do not change)When we say we fly straight and level we don't really fly in a straight line., but for a bow. In the set of forces that act on the aircraft is the force of weight or mass by acceleration and the latter is constant. On a relatively long flight, you will only have to correct for the variation in the weight or mass of fuel consumed.(civil aircraft). Gravity will see to it that the plane flies along a rope, and you won't even notice it because the height will be constant. Gravity is a vector anchored to the center of mass of the plane and directed to the center of the earth.. The flight of the plane resembles a sphere tied to a string that we rotate. Its trajectory is always circular. This is how planes fly. Do your calculations and check it out. Thanks
Okay, if you really are a pilot you should know that by law from a certain altitude you must adjust the altimeter to be coordinated with the other aircraft, is a safe altitude and is taken as a reference, This does not mean that you are always on a flat surface., I don't know where you draw those conclusions.
You are not a pilot, period.
If the plane flew straight, it would leave the planet due to the curvature of the earth, according to me.. Of course it is not going to come out, it is only an idea that does not fly in a straight line if not a curved line.
I think it also has to do with the movement of the planet……If you traveled in a straight line…you would never arrive ... because while you move the earth too…
Yelena but don't forget to do the math, the earth has a diameter of 40 thousand km and turns at 1600 km / h and the flights are only from east to west and do not cross the south pole, source to check fligthradar24
Sight, in the 80s/90s, Aerolineas Argentinas towards a Buenos Aires-Auckland transpolar flight, to reduce distances. I don't think it's done anymore.
How come they only fly from E to W and don't cross the South Pole?!? From which country do you come from? I fly from Argentina to Europe from O to E and my flag line (Argentinian airlines) has a tanspolar flight from Buenos Aires to Aukland, just passing through the South Pole, to reduce distances.
If the earth is not flat, someone explains to me why a plane flying from Guam to Los Angeles had a medical problem and had to land in Alaska???
For the same reason that is explained in this post, the shortest route is through the poles in this case.
Both pilots and engineers gave basic geometry to the coils ... it was remal ... only referring to a basic Cartesian plane, by simple logic they will solve their unknowns, the only character who liked the idea well is Alberto López Brun.
You know how the flight instruments of an airplane work?? You should inform yourself before writing certain things…
Estimated “treasure” Please explain then how the flight instruments of an airplane work.
If the earth is not flat, but spherical, as it explains that so much mass of water can be supported by the top and bottom without falling. Logic indicates that for the earth to contain so much mass of water, Its surface must be flat and the water level will always form a horizontal with the surface of the earth indicating that it is flat.. Another piece of information that can help you is that if you calculate the rotational speed of the spherical earth, the speed on the surface will give you around 1600 Km/hr. If you put water in a sphere at that speed nothing would remain. This information just to get you thinking.
Hahaha I loved that logic, but it seems that he forgets a detail, the gravity. Greetings.
hahahaa no mames, You are one of those who vote for the fish, no ?? dick x)
What if you express yourself with the correct vocabulary in Spanish??
At this point in life and believing in flat earth, if you look at the earth from space there is no up or down.
The problem is not that the Earth is spherical, but your brain is flat…!!!
I mean
According to you the earth is flat because OMITISTEl the force of gravity?
Even worse, give us to understand that we are “like in a big fish tank”?
I do not understand.
You are crazy, so the earth is flat, good discovery of yours in the 21st century , so the images taken from spaceships and satellites are inventions ?
well of course, They are all CGI images
How do you know?
Damn! You have never heard about the Law of Gravity postulated by Isaac Newton, later expanded and improved by Albert Einstein? Not even the children's story about the apple that fell on Newton's head? Definitely, you have not had a childhood!
And the moon is from 🧀? 21st century flat earther
Very interesting topic, Pity of explanation that seems to me frankly deplorable and with very questionable assertions that generate wrong vision.
For example say “Logic tells us that the closest point between two points is a straight line, but the reality is that when you fly, this reasoning does not apply.” ????!!! Of course, it applies!!! Including the necessary variable that we move in 3 dimensions (3D) on the surface of a sphere (the earth).
One consequence that it does apply is that the representation of the straight line of a route on a map -q is a representation of reality- may appear as a curve.
We have become accustomed to 2D maps -q they mean an incredible advance to understand our environment – but they are limited by the impossibility of reducing a 3D world to 2D: try to lay a ping pong ball or better half completely flat without breaking it… it is impossible!- to such a degree that we consider them reality … when the error that always drag (except for small distances along the equator) leads to a point adjacent to the next (a 1 mm o menos) at a range of 40,000 Kms!!! -in the case of Antarctica – on a planisphere.
I hope they improve their content
Please, improve the content with your contribution, you can send me your explanation to [email protected] with his great knowledge of 3D and 2D.
Well, Nicolas's explanation is a very good aeronautical explanation and as pilots you know that there are variations and deviations, that's all. Alberto's explanation ummmmm ?
What if you express yourself with the correct vocabulary in Spanish??
What the hell to read your comment. Stop complaining and bring just one more pen. It is clear what they explained. They do not want to do a thesis or a report. For that there are other means. ?
Good comment. further, it should be noted that the earth itself, it is moving. On flights of 30 minutes is imperceptible, but for long flights, adjustments must be made.
There is nothing like the education of before…. Geography, physics. Etc… Now some nonsense must be read. Is that there is not even logic .. and I'm not saying it to offend, although if they can be offended….
How sad….
Nicolas: after the mess they made between the ignorant of the law of gravity and the flat earthers, I ask you. Why are flights from O to E shorter than those from E to W?, regardless of its duration?
by the direction of the wind, In one sense they have it for and in another against.
Thank you for your answer that I saw thanks to another comment that was reported to my email (not so your answer). It surprises me that the winds always blow in the same direction, although if you. it says, so shall. In my Patagonian land the predominant ones are from O-E. In fact I live in the airway 7km. the apt. NQN. and airplanes always take off in direction O because of the lift.
Winds are variable on the surface, at higher levels there are usually prevailing winds.
I agree with you ?
Well it was not clear to me…
What part is not clear?
None . . .a hodgepodge of difficult words…and did not clarify anything
You only need reading comprehension 😉
Explain with apples and colors.
How come they only fly from E to W and don't cross the South Pole?!? From which country do you come from? I fly from Argentina to Europe from O to E and my flag line (Argentinian airlines) has a tanspolar flight from Buenos Aires to Aukland, just passing through the South Pole, to reduce distances.
The article was very instructive.. Thank you.
I ask flat earthers: if the earth is flat, What the hell did the astronauts of so many space missions see and photograph??
they will say it is “false”.