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Thread: SIN-SFO Flights, what to expect,...
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Old Apr 8, 2023 | 12:01 pm
  #418  
prestonh
 
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Originally Posted by fumje
Not that complicated: "flat" means straight line on a mercator projection map.

Here is a rhumb line from JFK to SIN. It looks flat on a rectangular map.


A map from the Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper

It is longer physical distance: 11.5k miles "flat" vs 9.5k miles gc distance.

edit add:
here is approximate comparison of the flat route vs the gc route.

A map from the Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper
That is the point. Mercator is not a real representation of a sphere. I'm not sure how anyone can say a sphere is flat or that the curved line you quote is 'flat' in any sense of reality. If someone wants to say the route flies closer to E/W parallels vs. gc distance that would mean something.
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