Re: interesting pic for a classroom exercise?

["Bernard G. Cleyet & Nancy Ann Seese" <georgeann@REDSHIFT.COM>]

Curiously the Boeing data for the MD-11 family omits the "cruising
altitude"  but gives

Typical Cruise Speed
                                      at 35,000 feet
                                                                    0.85
Mach
                                                                    565 mph
(910 km/h)

for a 747  (http://www.boeing.com/commercial/747-400/product.html)

bc

P.s. An aeroplane is a "product?"


Leigh Palmer wrote:

>

cut ----

> Using 60 m for the (projected) length of the plane, 33 minutes of arc
> for the apparent diameter of the Sun (near perihelion), Latitude 48.783
> degrees N and longitude 1.95 degrees E, I get the plane to be a slant
> distance of 36 km, or 34 km distant at an altitude of 37,000 feet. The
> plane is flying eastward, and perhaps someone will know if that is a
> reasonable altitude under the circumstances.
>
> Leigh
>
> (The diameter and altitude of the Sun were found using Starry Night Pro.
> I used the flat Earth approximation in this calculation, having already
> given far too much time to it. Nonetheless, thanks, Stefan - a nice
> problem, indeed.)