Jamie4590
Jamie4590
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Asked

Is there a rule of thumb concerning distances between waypoints? I have a flight plan where the first waypoint is 2700nm away. This doesn't cause me any problems but the track line arcs as its such a long distance. I was wondering if the wayponts are closer together would this actually make the distance shorter because the arc is less pronounced?

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TimH
TimH
First OfficerFirst Officer
Joined: Aug 20, 2006 Posts: 130 Location: Ireland, 31nm from EIDW
Answered

The arc is actually making the distance shorter, believe it or not

Its to do with the shape of the earth, if you were to go in a dead straight line it would be quite long. In the real world they also go the arc route where possible, because it shortens the route

Try reading this, I think its to do with the topic you are asking in the post

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_circle_route

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