Effects of Earth's Rotation on Navigation???
Hello,
I was just reviewing a book entitled,"The Advanced Pilot's Flight Manual" by William K. Kershner. Around Page 63 of his book, Mr. Kersher talks about the effect of Earth's rotation and drift error.
As far as I understand things, the Earth's rotation has little or no effect on the navigation of the airplane because an airplane is flying in air (Ocean of atmosphere) which is also rotating with the Earth's rotation.
For example, an airplane traveling east to west is not affected or aided by the Earth's rotation and an airplane traveling west to east is not hindered by the Earth's rotation.
As for satellites (spacecraft), their speed and navigation IS affected by the Earth's rotation because space vehicles travel outside our atmosphere. In our previous example, a satellitle traveling east to west on the equator travels at their velocity plus the earth's rotational speed, whereas a satellite traveling west to east travels it's velocity minus the earth rotational speed.
With that being said, does anyone know why Mr. Kershener included the Earth's rotation in his book?
Your thoughts please.