If the Earth turns east, why is not flying faster in the west?
If your target is turning to you, do not you have to get there faster?
Stop for a moment and think - if the Earth turns east 1180 km / h, and you are on board an airplane flying west, you should not get to the desired destination faster as it literally comes to you?
The short answer is "no," because the airplane is also under the influence of Earth's rotation, which means that we are moving away from our goal while it is turning towards us.
Have you confused? Not scary, here's a little more explanation.
When the Earth rotates at that speed to the east, everything on its surface is moving even faster with 1,670 km / h. Even the air above moves at a similar speed in the east. Therefore, in order for an airplane to reach anywhere, it must fly at a speed similar to that of the ground movement.
Let's say he travels 160 km / h - because he's already moving at 1670 km / h with the planet, this extra speed allows him to pull ahead and reach his goal. On the other hand, if it travels west, it actually travels at 1670 km / h MINUS 160 km / h.
"Yes, to go west, you are actually moving east, unless you're more than 15 kilometers from the poles because then > westward will take you west" explains Henry Reich in this interesting video. See it to find out what's still affecting our long-distance traffic.
Watch the video
