O/T Science question about airplanes

Walt

Ignoring winds, and assuming identical aircraft and weather conditions, travel time would be exactly the same regardless of direction. Clock time will change becasue you cross multiple time zones. In practice, in North America west to east flights are generally faster than east to west becasue the jet stream helps in one direction and hinders in the other.

Keith

Light aircraft normally don't fly high enough to enter the jet stream, but they are affected by westerly winds at lower altitudes. Because light planes are slower than the airliners, the effect of headwinds and tailwinds is greater on light planes than it is on jets.

Wikipedia has a good article on the jet stream, link below. The westerly winds are related to the earth's rotation, but not how you might think. It has to do with how winds from the tropic to arctic regions are affected by the Coriolis effect.

• Wikipedia jet stream article

Airplane speed is usually measured in "ground speed"?

At the equator, the earth is moving (rotating) at about a 1000mph. They don"t get 1000mph winds?

Wouldn"t you be able to fly round the earth in a day, simply by hanging up there and waiting for the earth to move? That might mean that a hot air ballon is supersonic?

Atmosperic changes do not occur cyclically at 24 intervals. Like the weather from the other side of the world (at your lattitude of course!).

Doesn"t happen does it?

These few simple observations (and a lot more possibilities) might help you to answer your own question.

Actually though, I think the San Diego to NY flight will get their quicker becasue the winds generally blow from west to east, so they would have a tailwind, while the NY to San Diego flight would have to battle headwinds.

if ya don`t believe me,,ask yourself this question: "what do i do, if i do not know what to do?"