Why do flights from US to Europe fly over Greenland?

This route is called a geodesic or great circle. While map projections distort these routes confusing passengers, the great circle path is the shortest path between two far locations. This is why pilots fly polar routes saving time and distance. And this is why pilots often fly over Greenland.

Why do aircraft not fly over the Pacific Ocean?

The primary reason airplanes don’t fly over the Pacific Ocean is because curved routes are shorter than straight routes. Flat maps are somewhat confusing because the Earth itself isn’t flat. Rather, it’s spherical. As a result, straight routes don’t offer the shortest distance between two locations.

Why don t flies fly in a straight line?

Flies cannot fly in a curve, because they cannot move their wings at different speeds. Both wings are either ‘on’ or ‘off’. To turn a corner, they turn the wings ‘off’ at an opportune moment and go into a momentary spinning freefall, turning the wings ‘on’ again when they are facing in the desired direction.

Why do we not fly over Antarctica?

Why don’t planes fly over Antarctica? The White Continent does not have much in the way of infrastructure and herein lies why planes do not fly over it. Something called ETOPS (Extended Operations) governs how far from an emergency diversion airport certain aircraft are allowed to fly, according to its model.

Is Greenland bigger than it seems?

Kids grow up believing that Greenland is about ten times larger than it really is, thanks to the preposterous polar dimensions of the commonly used Mercator projection.) If you have a globe handy, however, the logic of great circles is very apparent.

How are airline tracks across the Atlantic decided?

A: The tracks across the Atlantic are determined daily to take into account the meteorological conditions of the moment. If there are strong winds, the eastbound tracks will be farther north to take advantage of them, while the westbound flights will be routed south to avoid the headwinds.

Why is the map of Greenland so distorted?

(Depending on the layout used — what cartographers call “projection” — the distortion can be grotesque. Kids grow up believing that Greenland is about ten times larger than it really is, thanks to the preposterous polar dimensions of the commonly used Mercator projection.)