I was told once that planes coming from Europe don't fly straight across, but at an arc, so Maine in the first US land they would encounter. Don't know if it is true, but...
Doesn't take much effort to verify that.
Take a globe (you do have a globe don't you?), and pull a string between origin and destination. It is a straight line on the globe but a curved line on most flat maps.
"Why" is a whole other discussion.
True, however, it's an arc on a flat map but not on a sphere.
Yes, this is true...and what a WIDE arc you make--over LOTS of frozen, uninhabitable tundra. I always prefer to close my shade over Greenland. :-)
If I was living in Banghor, I wouldn't like it. It's like,well we know you got bad stuff on board,you can't go anywhere in the US except Banghor ,Maine....
I was also told the world is round...
... Don't know if it is true, but...
Yes, you are correct. The shortest path on the surface of a sphere is an arc (Great Circle) when projected onto a flat surface, a map.
Do an internet search on "great circle" routing.
True; the "great circle" route is actually shorter than a straight line. When we left Ireland for the U.S. near sunset we arrived In east coast airspace a little after sunset.
Dow Air Field, near Bangor Maine, was closed shortly after the end of World War II. It was then reactivated for the Korean War, and finally closed in 1968. Dow Air Force Base was a primary employer in Bangor area until its closure. Bangor is a small city located in central Maine that maintains an balance between small town comfort and the resources associated with an urban setting. Bangor International Airport is located on the former Dow Air Force Base. Bangor is the major transportation and distribution center for the northern two-thirds of the state of Maine. At the Bangor International Airport, several airlines provide regular passenger and cargo flights to cities throughout the United States and Europe."
The airfield is remote and can handle the big jets when diverted. If a possible terrorist is on board, they don't want to divert to JFK or Dulles.
Airplanes that fly from America to Europe and vice versa fly in an arc. It is actually shorter then flying straight.
Correct. It's called the Great Circle route. It looks curved on a flat map, but stretch a string over a globe between Paris and NYC and it becomes apparent.
You are right...Maine is the first point of entry into the US from Europe. I work here in Bangor at the Airport and was on the tarmac when that Air France 777 came down. I was catering an MD-11 full of US soldiers bound for Iraq. You should have seen all the police cars on the tarmac.
I was told once that planes coming from Europe don't fly straight across, but at an arc, so Maine in the first US land they would encounter. Don't know if it is true, but...
In navigational circles, I think it's called "The Great Circle" route which is the shortest whether by ship or air!!!
100% true...but remember the earth is curved...so if you flatten the earth the flight path is really a staight line.