Difference in flight time

The main reason for the difference in time are trade winds. Trade winds generally travel East to West, and so aircraft travelling in this direction have a faster ground speed, that is the speed relative to the ground. The true air speed of any aircraft is not affected by the wind.

1. Why does it take longer to fly one way than the other?
2. Why do you think plane has a shorter travel time?
3. Why does it take longer to fly north than south?
4. How does the Earth's rotation affect flight time?
5. Why do planes not fly over the Pacific?
6. Why do planes only fly east?
7. Why do planes stop in the air?
8. What is the disadvantage of airplane?
9. Why do planes leave at weird times?
10. Do planes only fly in one direction?
11. Can you fly faster than the Earth rotates?
12. Is it faster to fly with the rotation of the earth?

Why does it take longer to fly one way than the other?

The reason it took so much longer to fly back is the jet stream, a river of fast-moving air high up in the sky. Jet streams are usually about 100 miles wide. They can be thousands of miles long and are found all over the earth. To be called a jet stream, the wind must be moving faster than 60 mph.

Why do you think plane has a shorter travel time?

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.

Why does it take longer to fly north than south?

As you move north (or south) from the equator, you are moving closer to the axis of the Earth and so the air which started at the equator and moved north (or south) will be moving faster than the ground it is over (it has the rotation speed of the ground at the equator, not the ground which is is now over).

How does the Earth's rotation affect flight time?

The rotation of the Earth has no direct significant effect on flight times in either direction. That's to a first order approximation. As others have already said, since the Earth's surface is (very nearly) spherical and is rotating rather than moving linearly, Coriolis effects can be significant.

Why do planes not fly over 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 only fly east?

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.

Why do planes stop in the air?

The theory states that a wing keeps an airplane up by pushing the air down. Air has mass, and from Newton's third law it follows that the wing's downward push results in an equal and opposite push back upward, which is lift.

What is the disadvantage of airplane?

Air Transport carries certain disadvantages too and they are: (i) Cost of operating airlines is very high and so freight cost is very high as compared to sea transport. (ii) It is difficult to carry bulky, awkwardly shaped goods. (iii) Very risky in case of accident.

Why do planes leave at weird times?

By using historical average flight times, adjusted periodically, and a standard turn time (time allowed to offload, clean, and re-board passengers and baggage), they maintain a planned schedule. It does create seemingly random departure times, but it's the math of scheduled arrival times plus the planned turn time.

Do planes only fly in one direction?

The jet stream always blows in the same direction because of the Earth's rotation. Warm air from the equator rises and moves north or south towards colder regions.

Can you fly faster than the Earth rotates?

At the equator, the Earth spins about twice as fast as a commercial jet can fly. ... Since it can't match the Earth's rotational speed, a westward plane technically travels east — just like the entire planet beneath it.

Is it faster to fly with the rotation of the earth?

Since points on the earth around the equator have farther to travel during one rotation than the parts of the earth near the poles, those equatorial areas are moving faster than the rest of the earth.