I never said the shortest route. a plane flying “in a straight line west to east” would show up as as a curve on the map was all I was trying to convey. It’s possible this plane’s bearing doesn’t drastically change throughout this flight. “Straight lines” get real messy when you convert a sphere into a 2d projection for maps.
Then a further addition that there are other reasons to not fly in a direct straight line anyway. “Shortest route direct A to B” is an ideal condition, and the world is an always an ideal place.
“shortest route” and “straight line” actually mean pretty much the same thing. The shortest route is the straight line. Sorry if I confused the matter by switching up the terminology.
Flying parallel to the lines of latitude would mean that your bearing doesn’t change much, sure, but flying in a straight line would require your heading to change continuously.
The aircraft in the screenshot was flying a very not-straight course
I never said the shortest route. a plane flying “in a straight line west to east” would show up as as a curve on the map was all I was trying to convey. It’s possible this plane’s bearing doesn’t drastically change throughout this flight. “Straight lines” get real messy when you convert a sphere into a 2d projection for maps.
Then a further addition that there are other reasons to not fly in a direct straight line anyway. “Shortest route direct A to B” is an ideal condition, and the world is an always an ideal place.
“shortest route” and “straight line” actually mean pretty much the same thing. The shortest route is the straight line. Sorry if I confused the matter by switching up the terminology.
Flying parallel to the lines of latitude would mean that your bearing doesn’t change much, sure, but flying in a straight line would require your heading to change continuously.
The aircraft in the screenshot was flying a very not-straight course