Why do Planes Fly in an Arc?

Have you ever looked at a flight map and wondered why the route isn’t a straight shot? Well, there’s a very good explanation for this. It’s actually faster for aircraft to fly the great circle route than a straight-line route because of the circumference of the earth. The circumference of the earth is much greater at the equator than it is near the poles which effects flight patterns and routes. Maps are only two dimensional, but actual travel is three-dimensional; this leaves for a lot of confusion from passengers who can only see the map in front of them. Arc travel is the shortest path between two locations on a sphere, which is why airlines prefer this trajectory. This type of travel saves airlines money because it uses less fuel and because it’s less time an airline employee needs to be paid. Airlines are also able to sell more tickets when flights are shorter because customers prefer to get to their destination faster.

Maintenance can also cause a huge delay in aircraft travel. If a plane requires maintenance in between scheduled flight, it is important to make sure the work is done in a timely manner to prevent delays. Other factors that impact aircraft travel and speed include, maintenance issues, weather conditions, and the amount of aircraft flying in the air at any given time. Meteorological conditions such as strong winds from hurricanes, storms, and tornados could lead to flight re-routes, resulting in longer flights and strange flight patterns. Typically, there are over five thousand commercial aircraft flying at one time. The volume of aircraft in-flight can impact the route of travel as well as the time of travel. Air traffic control has to coordinate each and every one of them to make sure they’re all flying safely. Travel time can be increased based on flight patterns and airport strip landing availability— not every plane can take off or land at the same time. To ensure aircraft maintenance is completed in a timely matter, Aerospace Aviation 360 should be your first and only stop for all your aircraft spare parts.

1. joe
2. Posted on January 22, 2019
aviation

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