Planes avoids the pacific ocean

As I was planning my trip to Asia, I came across something strange. My jet seems to be taking a detour over Alaska. My aircraft is working extra hard to avoid the Pacific Ocean. Why? Is there a problem with this? Did I voluntarily sign up for the Caribou trip?

At first, you would think that this was dangerous.The Pacific is the largest and deepest ocean in the world. If a problem occurs over what appears to be an endless pool of water, pilots will have a hard time finding a safe area to land. Alaska might not have many international airports, but it's still a lot better than being out in the open sea.What an evocative slogan for travel, huh? Alaska isn't sinking, at least. Okay, I apologize to Alaska.

It wouldn't be wholly inaccurate to believe that it was a precaution.When planning a route, many pilots desire to use as many airports as possible. Emergency situations are rare given the volume of planes that take to the skies each day. But I don't think there are many more terrifying scenarios than having an engine fail 30,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean.But this isn't the main reason airlines are reluctant to operate direct flights from east to west. It all boils down to saving petrol and time in the end.

It's easy to forget that an airline is a business.The ability to transfer clients between locations quickly and affordably is how a business makes money. Furthermore, individuals want to get to their next location as quickly as possible, which is advantageous for both airlines and tourists. To put it briefly, an airplane's speed usually influences its flight path, although I'm not an expert in this area.In most cases, the fastest path is the one that stays as close to a straight line as possible, with rare exceptions like passing through jet streams or other weather-related problems.

Hold on while you glance at the flight path. It is by no means a straight line.On a flat map, yes, that is how it seems. But surely the world isn't flat anymore? It can be confusing because we're used to perceiving the world in two dimensions. Unless you take out a globe each time you need to know where a city or country is, you will probably look at a world map.

Therefore, drawing a huge rainbow to circumvent the Pacific Ocean looks to be a much longer route on a 2D map. However, a straight line in three dimensions will appear very different since the Earth is effectively spherical (more on that later). Okay, let's carry out a quick experiment.Keep a globe handy. Yes, I did just mention that Google Maps is what most people use. Alright, let me now demonstrate. I tied a string with Los Angeles at one end and Tokyo at the other.

When I pull it tight, you'll notice that the string isn't exactly parallel to the latitude lines carved on the globe. Instead, it will bend slightly upwards to follow the curvature of this mini-Earth that I found in the neighborhood bookstore.

The fact that my globe isn't an exact reproduction of the real one makes this impact even more apparent.Its extreme perfection is, in fact, the problem. As you can see, unlike a globe, the Earth is not perfectly spherical. Our globe resembles mine after the holidays, with a little larger center.I wonder who wrote that.

When compared to pictures taken from space, the differences are minimal. The globe is so large that a few hundred miles can easily draw attention away from other things. But think about this: To measure the circumference of the world through the poles with a large length of thread, 24,860 miles would be needed.However, if you repeated the process at the equator, it would rise to 24,900 miles. You might be curious as to why. The reason for this is that the planet spins on its axis.

When you were younger, did you ever spin erratically on a playground merry-go-round? Do you remember having the impression that the item was going to push you away? Actually, I remember that I was throwing up a lot.Not the trip for me. Anyway, the middle of the planet experiences a similar phenomenon when it spins. The force causes it to protrude.That's right, it's turning sufficiently swiftly. Right now, if you are listening in from the equator, you are moving at about a thousand miles per hour.

Despite the seemingly little variation of 40 miles in Earth's diameter, this can have a major effect on a planet's surface area.Because of the extra-equatorial width and curvature of the Earth, it is always shorter to curve toward the poles rather than follow a seemingly straight line on a chart. It is not being argued here that planes never travel over the Pacific. People have to go to Australia somehow.

I guess. I mean, to each his own, I guess, but I'm not really into giant spiders and insects. I'm not serious, Australia.In any case, planes will also fly over the open sea to avoid storms. Although aircraft can overcome some harsh weather conditions, such as hurricanes and tropical storms, seemingly small thunderstorms can provide unforeseen challenges. Given that clouds can rise to altitudes of more than 60,000 feet, aircraft are advised to navigate around them rather than into or over them.

A modern airplane being brought down by severe weather is almost unheard of. But if the passengers and crew are flung around the cabin along with everything they brought, then enough turbulence can cause injuries to them. The moral of this story is to always buckle up! Occasionally, aircraft pilots may attempt an oceanic trip to experience a smoother ride.Even in clear weather, there is a lot less turbulence over water than over land.

This is because the primary source of turbulence is hot air rising from the earth. Whoa, hot air is shooting out of this microphone! Water disperses heat far more effectively than dirt; therefore, flights over the ocean are often noticeably smoother.The other primary consideration for selecting flight routes is air currents, especially jet streams. These high-altitude air currents are located near the top of the troposphere, which is the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere and the one where most weather occurs. The line that divides the troposphere—the layer below—from the stratosphere is known as the tropopause.

Its elevation ranges from 4 to 12 miles above the earth's surface. This variance results in rapid changes in temperature and air pressure, which can accelerate a wind tunnel to speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour. Even though winter is the season with the largest temperature differences and the highest frequency of these high speeds, average wind speeds of 80 to 140 miles per hour are nothing to laugh at, so don't laugh too hard! There are four main jet streams, two in each hemisphere, and they mainly run from west to east due to the Earth's rotation.

The two most important jet streams for aviation are the subtropical jet stream, which forms close to the equator, and the polar jet stream, which forms near the Arctic Circle. Both are thousands of miles long, yet only a few miles wide. Although a jet stream can shorten a trip's time by many hours, flying into one can cause the plane to slow down dramatically.It's critical to understand the risks jet streams present. The most dangerous kind of turbulence originates from clear air turbulence, which arises close to the stream borders. This kind of turbulence is nearly impossible to predict and far more powerful than the usual version.Turbulence-related accidents are rare, although they do occur.

One notable example happened in 1997 when a plane from Tokyo to Honolulu hit a distinct area of air turbulence and crashed hard. Although the pilots were able to regain control, several passengers were forcefully thrown from their seats due to the sudden plummet.Given this risk, flight plans have to be carefully crafted to take advantage of the jet streams without putting the aircraft in jeopardy. Say it with me: Whenever you're flying, always wear a seat belt!

The reasons why planes adopt the trajectories they do can often be boiled down to factors that we take for granted in our everyday lives. The Earth's curvature is negligible unless you are traveling hundreds of miles per hour over incredibly long distances, and things tens of thousands of feet in the air are mostly affected by the jet stream.I don't know about you, but neither of those things is something my car can quite manage.