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by msummers10 on December 28th, 2006

msummers10

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Why do planes fly to the other side of the earth E/W or W/E, instead of N/S or S/N? Isn't cold air better for engines? Shouldn't they always fly the shortest distance?

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  • by Christopher Woods on May 2nd, 2007

    Christopher Woods

    From what I can remember from talking to my driving instructor (who was also a qualified pilot), warmer air is less dense than cold air so planes achieve less lift - hence why colder air is desirable.

    So yes, I'm sure high-altitude flight does use less fuel. Flying upwards to go sideways would be just stupid, if you flattened the globe out and then plotted the flightpaths for a trip to the east coast of America from Germany (for example) which involved going up to the Arctic Circle first, that'd use almost twice as much fuel (if not twice as much, still a LOT). Why bother turning a corner when you can go in a straight line? The only time I've been on a flight which has even gone near Alaska was from the UK to San Francisco International - and we only did a very slight curve (to basically fly in a straight line).

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