Hello, this is my first post, so I’m not sure it this is the right category. But how to have flight plan curved like this?
I always have it not curved and edgy. Thanks for all response.
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I think it’s because the earth isn’t flat. Might be wrong.
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@roostbrood is right. What you see here is a straight line on a 3D Globe projected on a 2D map.
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IRL this is known as the Coriolis force/effect
Source: Coriolis force | Description, Examples, & Facts | Britannica
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It would be straight if the earth is flat. The earth isn’t flat, so it is curved. this video could help you out Why Don't Planes Fly in Straight Lines? - YouTube
Credit:NavGeek Avation
I know why is it curved, but I don’t know how do I make it curved.
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Well as mentioned, All you have to do is to fly a straight line between to destinations. Fly direct from Los Angeles to Zurich and you see a curvature in LiveFlight because they show everything on a 2D map. The straight line on the 3D Globe in Infinite Flight will appear as a curved route on the 2D map.
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If you knew why it is curved (a straight line running across a ball) then you’d know how to make it curved (by flying completely straight across the ball, i.e. halfway across the earth).
Cheers!
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The way you get a “curved” flight plan is going direct to your destination via waypoint from where you are originating from. And that will happen for long distance direct destination waypoints. I do not recommend this unless you are flying short distances. Reason is because it is unrealistic, also the shortest most direct flight plan is almost never the most efficient.
Airspace restrictions, winds, traffic, etc, is why in the real world you normally do not get a direct waypoint to your destination. Hence why you do not get a perfectly “curved” flight plan
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Your flight path is curved. You just don’t see it on a 2D map. It’s not possible to fly between two points on a spheroid in a straight line.
For example, in an article discussing why flights are flown with the Great Circle, you can see that the “straight” path from the 2D map is actually also curved when mapped on a Globe:
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People typically use Simbrief/Fpltoif.com to get their flight plans.
The coriolis effect is caused by the conservation of angular momentum. The apparent curvature of great circle routes displayed in 2D isn’t related to the Earth’s rotation.
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The Great Circle makes curved flight paths straight and straight flight paths curved.
I know. I wrote IRL.
The answer to OPs question was given in post 2/3.
Curved earth, curved flightplan👌
Zenith Also has something to do with this. As you fly across the Spheric Earth the Zenith causes it to be curved as well
It’s very, very simple.
The shortest distance between 2 points on a globe is a great circle route.
If the 2 points are very close together then the line can be perceived as straight. As the points (without any intermediate points) get further away the curve becomes pronounced.
IRL we ‘rarely’ fly such longs legs. Predominantly between the lines of Longitude on the NATS tracks. (20W,30W,40W etc) hence the legs are broken down into waypoints and the curve gets diminished.
Coriolis effect has nothing to do with it I’m afraid. Coriolis effect is the rotation of the earth on linear motion leading to the rotation of weather patterns and fluid on the surface. ;D (neither does Zenith which would only denote the ‘highest’ point of the curve hence the midpoint of the leg)
Hope that helps. :D
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Picture paints a thousand words!
Here’s a route I flew a short while ago:
Lots of legs but the ‘overview’ of the entire routes displays the great circle line pretty well.
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Ok, I see. Thanks for response, y’all! :)
Just so you all know the earth is flat and infinite flight is part of the coverup the “global” feature was subsided by the round earth society in a elaborate scheme to basically in summary take over the world using infinite flight.
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