Many individuals are perplexed as to why flying in the opposite direction of the Earth’s rotation does not result in faster flights

We have noticed that some individuals are perplexed as to why flying against the Earth’s rotation does not result in faster flight durations.

In a post authored by an individual who openly rejects the notion of Earth’s rotation, a perplexed individual expresses their thoughts:

Aircraft traveling in an easterly direction to a westerly direction at a speed of 300 miles per hour… The Earth undergoes rotation in an eastward direction at a speed of 1,400 miles per hour beneath the plane. Why doesn’t the plane reach its destination 1,400 mph faster? Furthermore, the return trip is neither longer nor shorter. By what means? Response: The Earth is stationary and not rotating.

To be entirely equitable to the flat Earth group that authored it, this post is a disorganized and flawed piece that makes numerous erroneous assumptions about physics.

Consider the scenario where you are able to perform a significant vertical leap at the equator, disregarding any wind, where the rotational speed of the Earth is approximately 1,670 kilometers per hour (1,037 miles per hour). Imagine placing you on a trampoline and assuming that you are able to stay in the air for approximately 3 seconds.

Where do you anticipate your landing location to be? If you adhere to Flat Earth’s interpretation of physics, then the precise location you should aim for is 1.39 kilometers (0.86 miles) westward from your trampoline.

When airplanes are in the air, they appear to be motionless while the ground moves rapidly below them at a speed of 1,670 kilometers per hour (1,037 miles per hour), which is equivalent to 27.83 kilometers per minute (17.29 miles per minute) or 0.46 kilometers per second (0.29 miles per second). Based on their reasoning, if you were to leap into the air for a total of 3 seconds, you would find yourself 1.39 kilometers (0.86 miles) westward from your original position.

Now you’ll observe that the world is not teeming with children soaring off their trampolines and zooming through the air at velocities surpassing those of commercial airliners. This is highly unlikely to occur. However, it is not because the Earth isn’t spinning, as they suggest.

You understand the concept of inertia and how it relates to the movement of objects on Earth. Objects in motion will continue to move in a straight line at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force. That’s the reason why, when you jump straight up, whether it’s from the ground or inside a truck with no windows, you end up back where you started.

To change course, one must exert a force in the desired direction, such as propelling oneself forward through a jump or an aircraft ejecting mass. Planes don’t possess any extraordinary abilities that exempt them from inertia. Therefore, when they depart from the rotating Earth, they need to utilize energy in order to transport you to destinations like Hawai’i.

There is another misconception in the post regarding the assumption that our atmosphere remains unchanged while the Earth rotates beneath it. That is not accurate. Just as the Earth rotates, it carries the majority of our atmosphere due to the effects of frictional forces. Imagine a world where the atmosphere doesn’t move along with our planet. In such a scenario, you could take advantage of the incredibly fast wind speeds to reduce flight time. However, the constant onslaught of extremely strong winds would likely make you less worried about the duration of your flights and more concerned about the challenging conditions you’d face every waking moment.

Interestingly, traveling westward (against the Earth’s rotation) actually results in a slightly longer flight duration compared to traveling eastward.

“Jet streams are the reason behind the faster flights when traveling eastwards,” as explained by Simple Flying. “In simple terms, these are rapid-moving, slender air currents in the atmosphere that are typically located at high altitudes.”

This is somewhat related to the Earth’s rotation and the heating of the atmosphere by the Sun. Being knowledgeable about the Earth’s rotation and its impact on jet streams is crucial.

“As you move towards the poles, the track a point takes in its daily rotation becomes smaller,” explains NASA. “At 60° North or South latitude, the track covers only half the distance compared to the equator, resulting in a slower travel speed for a point.” When air (or water) moves from high latitudes to low latitudes, there is a tendency for it to lag behind, resulting in a noticeable eastward wind for someone on the surface. However, air that moves from low latitudes to high latitudes is deflected towards the west. Additionally, the movement of air or water is redirected to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.

Flight times can be influenced by the rotation of the Earth due to its impact on wind speed and direction. However, it is not possible to just take off in a plane and expect the Earth to move below you. We are not in a cartoon like Looney Tunes.