AI From United Kingdom, joined Dec 2005, 318 posts, RR: 0 Posted (2 years 3 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 9338 times:
Hi all,
Have always wondered the difference in flight duration when flying east to west & west to east.
If we look at long routes for eg DXB to JFK, according to EK website,
DXB to JFK is 13.40 hrs &
JFK to DXB is 12.45 hrs.
The earth rotates from west to east. So as the flight takes off from DXB & flies west towards JFK, the earth is rotating from west to east & hence JFK is getting closer to the flight.
While flying JFK to DXB, as the flight takes off from JFK & flies eastwards, the earth continues to rotate towards the east & DXB is getting farther away from the flight &
hence I think that it should take longer to fly from west to east & quicker to fly from east to west, but its the opposite.
The wind. In the northern hemisphere there is a prevailing flow from west to east so westbound flights typically take longer. In the extreme, there can be a 3hr difference in flights from the UK to New York, for example. A few years ago a MAN-JFK flight I was on took the best part of 8hrs whereas the return was around 5 hrs.
This is probably one of the reasons for the SIN-EWR-SIN flight going round the world eastwards.
Note also that inbound and outbound flights don't always fly the same routes, due to the prevailing winds.
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timz From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 6465 posts, RR: 8 Reply 2, posted (2 years 3 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 9325 times:
Quoting AI (Thread starter): hence JFK is getting closer to the flight.
The flight is likely not moving at all-- the earth beneath it is moving eastward faster than the plane's airspeed. So the plane just hangs in the air and waits for JFK to reach it.
Starlionblue From Hong Kong, joined Feb 2004, 15867 posts, RR: 66 Reply 3, posted (2 years 3 weeks 17 hours ago) and read 9286 times:
Relativity dictates that the aircraft is already in the Earth's frame of reference. It is already moving at the same speed as the Earth's rotation just sitting on the ground. You can thus ignore the Earth's rotation for this calculation.
As oly720man says, it has to do with winds. Now, Coriolis effects do generate many prevailing wind patterns, and they are in fact caused by rotation of the Earth.
BTW Earth's rotational speed already being built in is why orbital launches use less fuel closer to the equator, and why they go east after launch (barring polar orbits and such).
Quoting timz (Reply 2): Quoting AI (Thread starter):
hence JFK is getting closer to the flight.
The flight is likely not moving at all-- the earth beneath it is moving eastward faster than the plane's airspeed. So the plane just hangs in the air and waits for JFK to reach it.
.
"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots." - from Citadel by John Ringo
InnocuousFox From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 2805 posts, RR: 16 Reply 4, posted (2 years 2 weeks 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 9123 times:
So if the earth is moving, but the atmosphere that the plane is flying in is not, why don't we have 500-1000 kt winds all the time? It would have to be blowing pretty fast to get all the way around the world in 24 hours!
Dave Mark - Intrinsic Algorithm - Reducing the world to mathematical equations!
Starlionblue From Hong Kong, joined Feb 2004, 15867 posts, RR: 66 Reply 5, posted (2 years 2 weeks 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 9120 times:
Quoting InnocuousFox (Reply 4): So if the earth is moving, but the atmosphere that the plane is flying in is not, why don't we have 500-1000 kt winds all the time? It would have to be blowing pretty fast to get all the way around the world in 24 hours!
The atmosphere is also moving with the Earth. However since it is a fluid, it is not in perfect sync with the surface of the Earth. Since the rotational speed of the surface of the Earth is higher near the equator than near the poles (due to differing distance from the axis) the atmosphere is "dragged along" at different speeds depending on latitude. This leads to winds caused by Coriolis effects and other fun stuffs. But it is not that simple. The dynamics of the atmosphere are very complex since the surface of the Earth is not even (mountains and oceans) and the temperature of the surface is not even either, leading to a myriad currents, drafts, winds, and so forth..
Also remember about frames of reference. There is no "privileged" frame of reference that is absolute, so you can't say something is moving and something is not in this context. It's all relative. The Earth's surface is moving relative to, say, space around the Earth. However relative to a person standing on the ground it is not.
[Edited 2011-04-29 19:31:20]
"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots." - from Citadel by John Ringo
star_world From Ireland, joined Jun 2001, 1234 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 2 weeks 6 days 4 hours ago) and read 9024 times:
As others have already said - the earth's rotation does not play a role in the difference, it is related to the winds over the Atlantic which are generally eastbound.
By your logic all Olympic long jump events would be set up in a westerly direction to maximise the length of the jumps Even a quick jump into the air in the safety of your home could result in a nasty bump against the nearest wall as it rapidly approached you the moment you left the ground.
InnocuousFox From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 2805 posts, RR: 16 Reply 7, posted (2 years 2 weeks 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 8890 times:
Quoting Starlionblue (Reply 5): The atmosphere is also moving with the Earth.
Dude... I know. I was trying to perpetuate the silliness of the earth/atmosphere rotation fallacy.
Dave Mark - Intrinsic Algorithm - Reducing the world to mathematical equations!
474218 From United States of America, joined Oct 2005, 6340 posts, RR: 10 Reply 9, posted (2 years 2 weeks 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 8852 times:
Quoting star_world (Reply 6): As others have already said - the earth's rotation does not play a role in the difference, it is related to the winds over the Atlantic which are generally eastbound.
I not sure about that: SR-71 set the speed record between New York to London 1 hr. 55 min. average speed 1817 mph. However, its record London to Los Angles is 3 hrs. 47 min. average speed 1448 mph. Each flight required only one refueling so something caused the west to east direction to be much quicker than the east to west? I am not sure what the prevailing winds are like a 80,000 feet.
InnocuousFox From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 2805 posts, RR: 16 Reply 10, posted (2 years 2 weeks 5 days 2 hours ago) and read 8845 times:
Quoting 474218 (Reply 9): I am not sure what the prevailing winds are like a 80,000 feet.
There's actually not a lot of air at 80k. At that point, it WOULD be more of a function of the rotation of the earth.
Dave Mark - Intrinsic Algorithm - Reducing the world to mathematical equations!
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Even a quick jump into the air in the safety of your home could result in a nasty bump against the nearest wall as it rapidly approached you the moment you left the ground.
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