Travelling west you should be going against the spin of the earth so you should be meeting NY as it spins towards you, travelling to London you are trying to catch London up.It should take a lot longer W to E than E to W.
2006-12-15 22:25:05 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Travel ➔ Travel (General) ➔ Other - Destinations
As long as you fly in the atmosphere (or the stratosphere for that matter) your surroundings (the air) move with the spin of the earth. The result is that is cancels out all effects of the earths spin.
Compare this to a fly in a moving streetcar. When the fly flies forward (toward the driver) and then back, both times it needs the same amount of time, even though the bus is moving.
2006-12-15 22:35:13 · answer #1 · answered by Hi y´all ! 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's because of prevailing winds in the jetstream (high altitude winds). The rotational effect of the Earth is offset by the gravitational pull so although you would think that all the aircraft had to do was hover whilst the earth sped by underneath, what is actually happening is that the aircraft is being pulled along as the Earth rotates. Think of gravity as being a rope attached to the plane.
2006-12-16 06:47:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
because the plane isnt on the ground so the earth spin doesnt apply. there is gravity but only pulling it to the ground, there is no force from the east or west , that is open space
2006-12-16 09:14:16 · answer #3 · answered by Esmith 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a mater of tailwinds. Forinstance, when I fly from Germany to Detroit the flight takes 7 hours, howeverr because of the tailwing which pushese the aircraft, Detroit to Frankfurt is a 6 hour flight.
2006-12-16 06:33:04 · answer #4 · answered by demilspencer@yahoo.com 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋