Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

Flight from London - New York is quicker than the way back?

I was wondering the following:

Since the Earth is rotating from West to East, does that mean that flying from London to New York will take less time than from New York to London?

Why? Why not?

Reply 1

York2010

The time depends largely on the wind speed and direction. Generally speaking it is quicker to fly from USA to UK than UK to USA as the prevailing winds are normally West to East across the Atlantic

Reply 2

unknown_047

Original post by York2010

The time depends largely on the wind speed and direction. Generally speaking it is quicker to fly from USA to UK than UK to USA as the prevailing winds are normally West to East across the Atlantic

I forgot to give further details. What if the following conditions are there:

* Wind speed is ignored
* The same plane is flying with the exact same weight
* Same pilots
* Same speed

In other words, the speed will be same both ways. But the Earth would be moving WITH the plane (from NY to London) and AGAINST the plane (London to NY).

Would the Earth's rotation direction affect the time and why?

Reply 3

Stonebridge

Original post by unknown_047

I was wondering the following:

Since the Earth is rotating from West to East, does that mean that flying from London to New York will take less time than from New York to London?

Why? Why not?

You might find this interesting.
The flight times can vary drastically if use is made of the jet stream.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_stream#Aviation

Reply 4

F1 fanatic

Original post by unknown_047

But its an unrealistic situation as the wind speed and direction is directly linked to the rotation of the earth.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 5

Jay-Jay99

It takes same time simply because the earth is not spinning... otherwise one flight would be impossible as the earth is supposedly spinning at a 1000 mph and a airplane travel at a speed of 500-600 mph

Reply 6

uberteknik

Original post by Jay-Jay99

I hate to point this out, but the thread is more than six years old.

To get you thinking, try relating Newton's laws of motion to the problem. Specifically action and reaction and gravitational acceleration.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 7

username2324315

Nah, doesn't the Gulf Stream make the return journey like 2 hours shorter?

Reply 8

yudothis

Very interesting question. The short answer is that yes the Earth spins, but not just the ground.

The atmosphere spins too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gNkgj9h2oM

Reply 9

uberteknik

Original post by Rex Onocrotalus

Nah, doesn't the Gulf Stream make the return journey like 2 hours shorter?

I think you mean the Jetstream. The Gulf Stream is an ocean current (and the name of an aircraft manufacturer).

Yes, the Jetstream is a vortex high in the atmosphere, caused by the meeting of the polar and sub-tropical air masses and the Coriolis force induced by the earths rotation.

It does indeed flow west to east at up to 200 mph (when conditions are favourable) and can reduce flying time across the Atlantic from west to east by up to 2 hours.

Reply 10

username2324315

Original post by uberteknik

Lol yeah I meant the Jet Stream. This is why I'm not a scientist :biggrin:

Reply 11

jay2317

Original post by yudothis

Very interesting question. The short answer is that yes the Earth spins, but not just the ground.

The atmosphere spins too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gNkgj9h2oM

Just like the air (atmosphere) in a moving vehicle (plane, train, etc) is moving along within the closed system (moving vehicle) but if you throw a coin in the air vertically, it will not fall next to you... the coin should fall vertically but will be further back to you because of the moving vehicle.
Same with a plane in the air, if the earth was spinning the one trip would be impossible because of speed, and the other should take less than 6:00 very much less