Eli5: When a super fast plane like blackbird is going in a straight line why isn’t it constantly gaining altitude as the earth slopes away from it?

Question

In a debate with someone who thinks the earth could be flat, not smart enough to despute a point they are making plz help.

In: 1372

Answer 1

Gravity is like a rope attached to every object on or above earth. That rope doesn’t change length without outside force acting on it. So a plane flying “straight” just keeps traveling along with the same length rope rotating around the earth’s center