Actually,
Jetstream Rider, in the midst of our little bit of levity, there may be a small degree of truth in your statement. Whilst doing an Airport Analysis for Mackay (Queensland, Australia), the airport civil engineer told me (with a straight face) that the South-Eastern end of the runway, which was built over tidal flats, actually 'floats' up and down slightly over the sub-terrainian water during tidal variations. Maybe just another of many aviation myths, but it sounded reasonable to me.
OzExpat, wouldn't your earth curvature proposal cause extended floats, instead of the semi-controlled crashes of which I'm far more guilty?
Maybe I'm encountering the bulgy bits attributable to WGS84, I've only been doing the mental arithmatic for the perfect sphere during flare you see...............
Regards,
Old Smokey