I just went out for a smoke and an airplane flew over head and banked 90degrees. I've seen this before, obviously, but I was just wondering why they bothered. What is there for them to fly around? Surely there's nothing in their way up there. Wouldn't it be quicker and cheaper to just fly in a straight line?
2006-11-02 02:12:11 · 9 answers · asked by people are scum 4 in Travel ➔ Air Travel
In areas where there is a fair amount of air traffic, there are "lanes" in the sky in which planes travel. This is in order to avoid collisions, and to assist in air traffic control. Also, a plane will often bank as it changes course when it is "handed off" from one air traffic control facility to another, and is directed to move to a new heading or altitude to avoid other air traffic.
2006-11-02 02:22:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Drunk pilots - no just kidding.
If it was a commercial plane then they were directed to by a nearby tower. More likely you were looking at a private plane. That could be for any reason. I was in one recently and the pilot would bank just so everyone else could see something on the ground she was looking at. Maybe it was a flyng lesson and a student pilot was learning to turn. It could be a traffic plane or taking pictures, planes don't always fly to get to another location.
2006-11-02 04:43:53 · answer #2 · answered by apuleuis 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The way planes turn is to bank like that. It was turning. Also - they have to avaoid other planes so this is why they can not always fly straight. When they take off and land, they need to flie into the wind - so they need to turn and approach the right landing strip. Once they are 'on-course' they fly straigh - except to avoid othe planes or bad weather.
2006-11-02 02:18:03 · answer #3 · answered by fffrrreeeddd 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Flights are put into routes. These routes direct planes to various waypoints. You probably saw this plane reach a waypoint and turn for the next one. The have to do this in routes to avoid collisions and obstructions for these airliners. It's just to keep the planes separate as well as make it easier to navigate.
2006-11-02 04:18:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't understand air travel..
The earth spins at 13,000 miles an hour, and yet we spend all our time and money inventing things that fly against the flow.
The scientists should be inventing a way of just jumping up in the air, so the planet spins underneath them and then we just land in the right part of the world....how difficult could that be? honestly, I have to do all the inventing round here
2006-11-02 02:32:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
The windy holiday will take longer, because fluid resistance is non-linear and the go back flight from B to A adverse to the wind will take longer than the linked income in flight speed from the wind in the back of the plane going from A to B assuming the plane has a consistent engine capacity output and so on.
2016-12-05 11:20:20 · answer #6 · answered by snelling 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The reason that aeroplanes don't fly in straight lines is easy, because the earth is curved. If they flew in straght lines then they would end up in outer space!
2006-11-02 02:22:14 · answer #7 · answered by Vernix Lanugo 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
1) they are not, because of the curvature of earth. they fly on a curve line
2) what you saw, is 'go round', ordered by air traffic control.
2006-11-02 05:07:05 · answer #8 · answered by zilber 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe the airplane was banking/turning towards the direction of the intended airport
2006-11-02 02:21:14 · answer #9 · answered by Mopar Muscle Gal 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋