So earth's rotation certainly has a some effect on air travel times, but in a much more indirect way. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation.
Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Log out. Whereas, if you are flying from London to New York, you will still fly in the westerlies or mid-latitudes, but you will have a head wind.
This will cause your flight to take around 7 to 8 hours. Next time you fly, pay attention to the duration of the flight and you will notice a shorter time for an eastbound flight versus a westbound flight. Skip to content. Watch Live. I Bridge Shutdown. Back to School. School Day Forecast. Special Reports. Bridging the Great Health Divide. Mid-South Heroes. Friday Football Fever. Gas Prices. Bluff City Life. This trip went much faster.
The reason it took so much longer to fly back is the jet stream , a river of fast-moving air high up in the sky. Jet streams are usually about miles wide. They can be thousands of miles long and are found all over the earth. To be called a jet stream, the wind must be moving faster than 60 mph. Jet streams generally blow from the west to the east around the Earth, often following a meandering, curved path just like a river on land.
The jet stream over the United States never stays in one place — it tends to move farther south and blow stronger in the winter , and to move farther north and not blow as strong in the summer. Airplane pilots measure speed in two different ways. First is airspeed — how fast the wind would feel if you stuck your hand out the window. The second is ground speed — how fast the plane is moving over the ground. When you fly in the jet stream, your airspeed always stays the same, but your ground speed can change a lot because the air around the plane is moving.
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