Can we hover and wait for the destination to arrive?

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Hovering above the Earth while waiting for a destination to arrive is impractical due to the Earth's rotation and the atmosphere's movement. The planet rotates at 1670 km/h, and the atmosphere moves with it, meaning that if a plane hovers, it would be subject to the same wind forces as the ground. From the perspective of those on the ground, a hovering plane would not remain stationary but would be carried along by the atmosphere. This scenario highlights the interconnectedness of the Earth's surface and its atmosphere, debunking the idea of hovering indefinitely. The discussion emphasizes that hovering would not allow for a stationary position relative to the ground.
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If the Earth rotates 1670km/hr why can't I just hover high enough (assuming there's enough fuel) and wait for my destination to arrive? Haha
 

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The whole planet rotates, including the atmosphere, as one unit. Not just the solid part.

If this were not the case, then we'd have a constant 1670 km/h westward wind blowing all the time as the whole atmosphere slid past us, which would be pretty ridiculous. From the perspective of people on the plane it sounds reasonable at first. You hover stationary relative to the air while the ground rotates underneath you. But consider the same situation from the perspective of people on the ground. As soon as the plane launches, it gets blown away towards its destination by this tremendous and ever-present wind.
 
cepheid said:
The whole planet rotates, including the atmosphere, as one unit. Not just the solid part.

If this were not the case, then we'd have a constant 1670 km/h westward wind blowing all the time as the whole atmosphere slid past us, which would be pretty ridiculous. From the perspective of people on the plane it sounds reasonable at first. You hover stationary relative to the air while the ground rotates underneath you. But consider the same situation from the perspective of people on the ground. As soon as the plane launches, it gets blown away towards its destination by this tremendous and ever-present wind.

that makes perfect sense, thanks cepheid :smile:
 

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