> a great circle is the shortest route between any two places Wouldn't it be fas... | Hacker News

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stepstep on May 2, 2014 | parent | context | favorite | on: Gimli Glider

> a great circle is the shortest route between any two places

Wouldn't it be faster to adjust the heading to point directly to the destination and then fly in a straight line?

Patrick_Devine on May 2, 2014 [–]

Remember that we live on a sphere (or something approximating one -- it's a sphere that bulges). A great circle route actually is a straight line, it's just that on a 2D map it looks like you're constantly turning.

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