✈️🌍 Why Do Flight Paths Look Curved? When flying from *Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles*, you might expect a straight path across the Atlantic or Mediterranean. In reality, the flight takes a curved route over Iran, Russia, the North Pole, and Canada before reaching the US west coast. The reason? The Earth is *spherical*, and the shortest distance between two points on a sphere is called a *Great Circle Route*—a curved line on flat maps, but actually the most direct path. 🗺️ Flat maps are misleading Projections like the *Mercator map* distort distances and shapes. A route that appears curved is actually shorter, while a "straight" line on the map may be longer. 💡 Why do planes take this route? - Shorter distance - Less flight time - Lower fuel consumption - Reduced operating costs - Sometimes to catch favorable jet streams 📜 Ancient knowledge Muslim scholars like *Al-Biruni* and *Al-Idrisi* understood Earth's shape and calculated such paths centuries ago for navigation and determining directions. 🌐 So, what looks strange on a flat map is actually the most *efficient and direct path* on our spherical Earth. #GreatCircleRoute #FlightPaths #AirTravelFacts #GeographyMatters #AviationScience #TravelSmart #CurvedNotCrooked #Map

The incredible variety of destinations for flights from Istanbul Airport by Turkish Airlines

Istanbul Airport (IST) has achieved an impressive milestone: it is now the most connected airport in the world, with direct flights to 310 international destinations. This vast air network makes it a true global hub, connecting Europe, Asia, Africa and even parts of the Americas quickly and efficiently. Despite this, IST only ranks 7th in the world ranking for passenger movement. In other words, although it is the absolute leader in connectivity, there are still other airports with a higher volume of travelers, such as Atlanta (USA), Dubai and London-Heathrow. This difference shows that connectivity is not the same as volume. While airports like Atlanta concentrate domestic flights and local passengers, Istanbul focuses on connecting between continents, serving as a strategic point for international stopovers. The airport's success is also linked to the growth of Turkish Airlines, one of the companies that flies the most to different countries in the world.

İstanbul'dan yapılabilecek direkt uçuşlar. Bu konuda İstanbul, dünya lideri. Kaynak: flightsfrom

We’re often asked: “what is the most number of flights you’ve tracked at one time?” This afternoon at about 14:30 UTC we tracked more than 23,000 aircraft for the first time.

The Bayraktar Kızılelma (Red Apple) is a single-engine, low-observable, carrier-capable, jet-powered unmanned combat aerial vehicle, currently in development by Turkish defense company Baykar. The aircraft is being developed as part of Project MIUS. The initial Bayraktar Kızılelma (Kızılelma-A) is subsonic. Planned variants (Kızılelma-B and Kızılelma-C) are intended to be supersonic, the latter having a twin-engined configuration. It is one of the two Turkish jet-powered stealth UCAVs along with the TAI Anka-3. Baykar CTO Selçuk Bayraktar had initially announced that the Kızılelma was expected to make its maiden flight in 2023, adding that a jet-powered UCAV was a "12-year-long dream". The Kızılelma was able to complete its first flight ahead of the expected date, in December 2022. Specifications: Type: High-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Length: 22 meters (72 feet) Wingspan: 45 meters (148 feet) Engine: Unknown (reportedly a Ukrainian-made turbofan engine) Maximum Takeoff Weight: 6,000 kg (13,228 lbs) Payload: Up to 1,500 kg (3,307 lbs) Endurance: Over 40 hours Armament: Internal weapons bay capable of carrying various air-to-surface munitions, including guided missiles and bombs Stealth Features: Reportedly incorporates stealth design elements to reduce radar signature

Turkish homegrown fighter jet KAAN on Monday successfully conducted its second successful test flight, said the head of the nation’s Defense Industry Agency. “Our national combat aircraft, which successfully made its first flight on Feb. 21, took off from the runway at 08.46 this morning, remained in the air for 14 minutes, and reached an altitude of 10,000 feet,” Haluk Gorgun, the agency head, said on X. KAAN, the first fifth-generation fighter jet manufactured domestically, aims to replace the Turkish army's aging fleet. KAAN will be capable of air-to-air combat with next-generation weapons and precision strikes from internal weapon mounts at supersonic speed, and will provide increased combat power with AI and neural network support. The latest development makes Türkiye one of the few countries to own this technology. It is part of Türkiye’s continuing efforts to shift most of its defense vehicles, weapons, and supplies from foreign sources to domestic ones.

Uçaklar Neden Tibet’in Üzerinden Uçmaz?✈️ Flight radar uygulamasına bakarsanız Dünya'nın her yerinde bir sürü uçak uçarken Çin'in Tibet bölgesinde hiç uçak olmadığını görürsünüz. Peki uçaklar neden Tibet'in üzerinden uçmaz? Tibet'in üzerinden geçtiklerinde daha kısa süre gidebilecekken neden çevresini dolanırlar? Aslında bu sorunun cevabı Tibet için kullanılan "Dünya'nın çatısı" benzetmesinde saklı. Tibet deniz seviyesinden yüksekliği ortalama 5 bin metreyi bulan ve içerisinde Dünya'nın en yüksek yeri Everest Tepesini barındıran bir coğrafya. Peki bunun uçaklarla alakası ne? Modern yolcu uçaklarının kabinleri basınçlandırılmış durumdadır. Bu basınç sisteminde bir arıza meydana geldiğinde ilk etapta yolcuların nefes alıp verebilmesi için oksijen maskeleri devreye girer. Ancak oksijen sisteminin kapasitesi ortalama olarak 15-20 dakika yeterlidir. Bu yüzden kabin basınç sisteminde arıza meydana geldiğinde pilotlar uçağı 3 bin metre irtifaya çekmek zorundadır. Tibet bölgesinin çoğu yerinde yükseklik 3 bin metrenin çok ama çok üstündedir. Tibet'te acil bir durumda uçakların güvenle alçalabileceği bir ortam bulunmamaktadır. Ayrıca çift motorlu uçaklarda motorlardan birisi arızalandığında uçakların güvenle uçabilmesi için belirli bir irtifaya inmeleri gerekir. Tibet'in coğrafi yapısından dolayı bu ne yazık ki mümkün değildir. İşte bu sebeplerden dolayı Tibet’in üzerinden hiç uçak geçmez..

Another 5th Generation fighter design joins the club. 😉 The Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Turkish Fighter (TF) Kaan just made it's first flight. This is remarkably fast progress as the prototype was only just revealed recently a few months ago. ~Clorox.

#Turkish Aerospace's Successful Maiden Flight of 5th-Gen Fighter '#KAAN' Read More: https://www.battlespacex.com/Article/77 #BattlespaceX #Turkishairforce #turkeyairforce #turkisharmedforces #tai #tfx #Turkey #türkisharmy #fighterjets #combatfighter #5thgenfighters #stealthfighter #airforce #testflight