driving home, i saw a massive plane just hovering close to the ground. it was dead still once i saw it, and it stayed there for at least 10 seconds. it wasn’t until i turned my head away and back and saw the end of it turning away at a stop light.
from a perspective, my speed was around 40 mph.
super freaky, i thought it was a new piece of architect or a balloon, but it was not.
In: 7
It can *appear* still in the air because your eye doesn’t have enough visual references, or the visual references are moving in directions you’re not used to. The brain only has relative motion to go on.
If you’re in motion and the background is a clear blue sky, and buildings/trees/etc close to the ground are moving opposite, your brain probably doesn’t have much experience judging that motion.
Aircraft in flight are moving with the wind, not the ground, not too unlike a boat in swiftly moving water. If it’s flying into a headwind, its ground speed is lower. (regular) Airplanes need air moving over the wings to generate enough lift to sustain flight. If the plane is able to fly slow enough in a strong headwind, it can be stationary above the ground: https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/65219/is-it-possible-to-fly-backward-if-you-have-really-strong-headwind https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comments/u6quzp/today_i_had_the_unique_experience_of_flying/
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