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 airports. This means that distances from Honolulu are preserved, while the direction from Honolulu to each airport is also maintained. The result is less like a conventional world map and more like a giant compass centred on Hawaii, with the routes radiating outwards in their true directions. Select a...
