In this chapter, we discussed the effect of the wind resistance of the jet stream on the velocity of an airplane. In this project, we will track two airplanes in flight traveling between the east coast and the west coast of the United States. A possible choice is to and from Atlanta, Georgia, and Los Angeles, California.

Part I

In order to track a flight in progress:

1. Go to www.trip.com website.

2. Choose "Flight Tracker."

3. Choose "Track a Flight by City and Time."

4. Choose an airport on the east coast for the departure, an airport on the west coast for the arrival, and a departure time. When selecting a departure time, remember that there is a three hour difference between the east coast and west coast time zones. You may have to select several times before you obtain a flight in progress. Record the information from the web site in the first row of the following table.

5. Record the information from the Web site in the first row of the table in step 7.

6. Choose the same airport on the west coast for the departure, the same airport on the east coast for the arrival, and departure time. When selecting a departure time, remember that there is a three hour difference between the east coast and the west coast time zones. You may have to select several times before you obtain a flight in progress.

7. Record the information from the Web site in the second row of the following table:
 

Airline and Flight	Airport	Time	Status	Current  Location	Altitude	Instantaneous Speed	Equipment
	Departing
	Arriving
	Departing
	Arriving

8. Determine the distance (as the crow flies) in miles between the two cities. One Internet site for doing this is www.indo.com/distance/index.html.

9. Use the following guidelines to determine the flight time.
 

• The time taken to travel from the east coast to the west coast is three hours more than the difference of Eastern time and Pacific time.
• The time taken to travel from the west coast to the east coast is three hours less then the difference of Eastern time and Pacific time.
• Write the time as a mixed number. Fractions of an hour can be determined by dividing the number of minutes by 60.

11. Average speeds and instantaneous speeds are not always the same. Compare the average speed of the airplane and the instantaneous speed of the airplane as recorded in step 7. If these numbers are different, explain why.

Part II

The point of no return for an aircraft is the ponit in its flight when the time needed to complete the flight is equal to the time needed to return to the plane's point of origin.

1. For the flight from the east coast to the west coast, write a system of equations needed to determine the time for the point of no return and the distance from the plane's origin. (Hint: Let x be the distance from the plane's origin in miles and y be the time in hours of the point of no return.) Sketch a diagram to illustrate this situation.

2. Determine the time of the point of no return for the trip from the west coast to the east coast and the distance the point is from the plane's origin.

3. Compare the locations of the point of no return for each flight.