When a plane takes off from the equator at a specific longitude and flies due north and attempts to land at $43 N$ latitude, why doesn't it crash due to the difference in earth's velocity at the equator and $43 N$ ? Isn't the energy conserved to obey Newton's laws ?
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I don't understand. Why would it crash? – garyp Apr 30 '20 at 20:23
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1Why does energy conservation mean the plane crashes? Can you expand on your reasoning? – BioPhysicist Apr 30 '20 at 20:24
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Sorry, figured out it was a duplicate (of links noted in answer) before I submitted initial version of answer -- – quiet flyer Apr 30 '20 at 20:38
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Airplanes aren't inertial objects. They fly by constant interaction between lift, drag, thrust, and gravitational forces. If the airplane were to find itself outside of a narrow range of airspeeds, it would accelerate until it was in that range. The engines are consuming huge amounts of fuel constantly, so conservation of energy is not a factor.
BowlOfRed
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So basically you are asking "Why doesn't the groundspeed increase to a phenomenally high value due to the aircraft retaining the velocity component associated with the speed of the earth's rotation at the takeoff point?"
Because the flight is conducted within the atmosphere, not beyond it.
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Does a pilot have to take into consideration the angular spin velocity of the earth?
quiet flyer
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Close. I'm arguing with a flat earther and he thinks that when flying north from the equator flying along the meridian, that when you reach a place, say 40N, and try to land, once you reduce the plane's yaw to counteract the coriolis effect, you will return to the initial tangential velocity from takeoff. I asked him what force would cause the plane to speed up. His response is "I don't have to look for any force because we are talking about a movement that occurs within a NON-INERTIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM!" I would laugh at him if I were face to face. Basic physics isn't that hard. – Keith May 01 '20 at 04:26