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Overview
Many things can be exasperating about having to fly frequently. One way to seriously mitigate such problems is flying in a private jet. Private jets offer luxuries, privacy, and spaciousness that simply aren't available on most commercial flights. For instance, many private jets offer full-service dining, extra-large seats and top-notch entertainment. One nicety that is sometimes lacking, however, is an estimated flight time. It can be very convenient to be able to roughly calculate flight times on a private aircraft and, luckily, it isn't particularly hard to do so.
Flying on a private jet certainly beats most commercial flights.
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Step 1
Determine and plot your current position on the map. -
Step 2
Determine and plot your destination on the map. -
Step 3
Determine the distance between your point of origin and your destination, including any stops along the way. Stops along the way need to be plotted as "waypoints" on the map--places to which you'll travel along the way to your destination. Such waypoints influence the distance because they are generally not on a straight line between your point of origin and destination. -
Step 4
Find out how fast you'll be flying by asking a member of the crew. Remember, your airspeed (the actual speed at which the plane is traveling through the air) will almost always be different than your ground-speed. To determine your ground-speed, figure any headwind or tailwind you're receiving into your airspeed. For instance, if you're traveling at an airspeed of 350 miles per hour but heading into a headwind of 50 miles per hour, your ground-speed is 300 miles per hour. -
Step 5
Divide the distance your flight will travel by the ground-speed. The resulting number is the time (in hours) that your flight will take. So, for example, a flight that is going to cover 1400 miles at a ground-speed of 350 miles per hour will take 4 hours. This is calculated by dividing 1400 by 350, which equals 4.
- Skill: Moderately Easy
- Ingredients:
- Map
- Calculator (optional)
- Tip: Add any layover time at your waypoints to the total time of your flight. For instance, if your flight time is estimated at 4 hours, and you have one layover en route of 1 hour, your total flight time will be 5 hours.
- Tip: You can determine the approximate distance between your point of origin and your destination by using the distance scale found at the bottom of your map.
- Warning:
- Airspeeds are often given in terms of "knots," not miles per hour. One knot is equal to about 1.15 miles per hour. So, to convert, just multiply the knots by 1.15 to get your speed.
- Because your estimates of ground-speed and distance may be imperfect, your flight time may vary slightly from what you determine.
