Airplane Approach Calculations take the Curvature of the Earth into account

Some airports use GNSS (GPS) non precision approach (NPA) and ILS (radio beacon) precision approach (PA) vertical guidance for the final approach to the runway. ILS is a straight line approach, while GNSS is a curved line approach following the curvature of the earth on a glide slope angle. In the calculations of the distance from the runway to the final approach point the curvature of the earth is taken into account for both approach variants.

Do aircraft change attitude to follow the curvature of the Earth?

The answer is yes the aircraft does change attitude as it cruises along the curved Earth.

An average pilot will never notice this as the rate of attitude change is so slow it is undetectable to the human senses. The pilot will never be conscious of pushing the nose down to follow curvature as the necessary change in attitude occurs simply by the action taken to maintain a constant altitude.

Analysing Aircraft Flight Paths correctly. Flat Earth or Globe? Where do they make sense?

I see many Flat Earth sites trying to understand why the flight paths are curved on a Flat Map.

The answer is simple - because a Flat Map is a distortion of the true shape of the Earth which is a Globe. Flight paths plotted accurately on a Globe make perfect sense.

Understanding Aircraft Emergency Landings correctly

Some flat Earth videos use actual aircraft diversions as evidence the Earth is Flat, however many of those videos do not portray the route correctly.

When plotted correctly on a Globe the diversion airfield locations makes perfect sense.

WIFI coverage in Aircrafts

I was chatting about the availability of wifi on aircraft and noticed a comment that it only works over land.

Perhaps that is true for some airlines but we have world wide coverage of wifi and the satellite phone through Swift Broadband. Here is their coverage map.

The Eötvös effect observed in aircraft - how does it affect Gravity?

This video demonstrates the Eötvös effect which results in variations in weight depending on your direction of travel - going East the weight is lighter than when traveling West. This is due to the Centrifugal force generated by adding Earth's rotation to the motion of the aircraft. Going East the speeds are added. Going West the aircraft speed is subtracted from the Earth's rotation.

FlightRadar24 Satellite based aircraft tracking now available to all users

As the first flight tracking service to integrate satellite-based ADS-B into a public platform in 2016, we’re proud to announce we’re also the first to make space-based ADS-B data available to all users. All our users will see most flights tracked via satellite and we also offer additional specialized space-based tracking data for our professional customers.

Radarbox gives access to older flights for non-registered users.

See also: Space Based ADS-B Coverage

Cloudy Horizon appears below an Airplane 25 miles ahead 2000 feet below us

Fying at an altitude 2000 feet above another airplane 25 miles ahead, as indicated by the TCAS system, we see not only the other airplane below our eye level, but the clouds and the horizon in the distance appear way below the other airplane. This proves that the horizon does not raise to eye level or true level as indicated by the Head-up display (HUD).

The Enhanced vision system (EVS) of the HUD uses infrared to look through the haze to be able to display where the real horizon is. It is indicaded well below true level.

Centrifugal and Gravitational Acceleration in an Aircraft

In a fast-flying aircraft heading east near the equator, an additional centrifugal acceleration to earths centrifugal acceleration acts away from the earth so that a part of the earth's attraction force is canceled out and therefore one is slightly lighter in the aircraft than on the ground. This is called the Eötvös effect.

In this article, this effect can be calculated with a calculation form for any location and flight direction and altitude. The calculation is verified by means of a real flight. In addition, all the formulas used are listed and explained.

Airborne Weather Radar, evidence of Earth's curvature

Airborne Weather Radar at zero tilt will scan an angle 2.8 degrees down from Level. At 290 Miles from Hawaii the Mountains should be visible on the Radar with zero tilt if the Earth was Flat - the angle from aircraft to the base of the Mountains is 1.7 degrees.

However with zero tilt they are not visible. We need to tilt the radar down 3 degrees to see the Mountains clearly. This is because the earth is a Globe.