Surfing the Jet Stream

Anyone who has ever flown from America to Europe has probably noticed that the outward flight usually takes considerably less time than the return journey. The reason is the jet stream – fast-moving winds high in the atmosphere that generally blow from west to east. Flying east, aircraft can get a significant push from these winds, while flying west means battling against them. The same phenomenon affects flights to Hawaii, and Flight Map from HawaiiTravelers lets you explore exactly how much extra time the winds appear to add to the journey. Flight Map uses an azimuthal equidistant projection centred on Honolulu to plot straight-line flight paths from Hawaii’s capital to 68 other... more →
Posted in: Interactive Maps