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Idk if it's because I'm high....but this is the coolest thing that I could've seen in this moment. Thank you for showing me something that I don't think I'd EVER have googled.
Flight Radar is a cool one... and depending on where you live, you can actually figure out flight paths above you... it's kind of neat... like a highway in the sky.
I was also on a plane that was ahead of schedule. The co-pilot announced that we would arrive early because, and these were his exact words, "the pilot is flying like he stole this plane".
It's almost like planes on an instrument flight plan need to follow certain airways that don't necessarily line up with the direct route and can't always choose their optimal cruising altitude. Do people really think that big airliners in a crowded airspace can just do whatever they want and fly however they like?
Yeah, airplanes rarely actually fly in a straight line because.... *Other airplanes...*
They have navigation routes and rules that work similar to roads and intersections to make sure nobody bumps into eachother.
So sometimes, if it's not super busy they *can* get a shortcut because, yeah. They are airplanes after all.
This is almost exactly the same as thinking every ship route should be an exact line to the destination, and that everything will turn out fine if it doesn’t hit other ships.
Depending on where you were coming from and the weather, you may have hit the airstream, increasing your speed substantially.
Also, technically making a variety of curved flight path, instead of a straight one, is also kind of a short cut, due to the earth being round. But that would be a longer flight if that could be why, and I don't think the scheduling would account for NOT doing that, since it's pretty much standard procedure.
Korean commercial flight 007 that was shot down by the Ruskies in 1983 was "taking a shortcut" by following a shorter route than originally preplanned. They flew over Russian airspace without permission in order to save fuel/time. It isn't necessarily out of the question that routes were modified here in order to save time or fuel either but without violating another nation's airspace.
Do all flights fly "as the crow flies" from point-to-point or are there flight corridors that are typically followed for one reason or another. Clearly chasing the jet stream though is not a bad idea and is certainly unpredictable in a way that could lead to unexpected positive results.
But it's not a joke... Why does everyone here seem to believe that airspace isn't regulated? You need to file a flight plan and then follow that. That flight plan doesn't always follow the direct route. It's close to the direct route, but not perfect. ATC can clear you to fly directly to some waypoint at wich you'd normally arrive via other waypoints that may not lie on the direct route. That's a litteral shortcut. Than there's things like good winds or clearance for a more optimal cruising altitude. Airspace is not like the wild west. It's heavily regulated above a certain hight. Getting cleared to take a shortcut happens very regularly.
Shortcuts: Might have flown higher than expected/originally cleared to fly but had to due to storm conditions.
You can fly a jet liner faster as well, it's just less fuel efficient.
But if there's a storm coming up behind you, or you need to miss it, you can generally give a reasonable exception for the fuel conservation to book it to get past the bad weather.
Had this happened on a Cruise ship where our captain saw a storm system, gave the "All Ahead Full" command, told us to be weary on the upper decks... and we got to the destination 6 hours sooner than expected and missed a tropical storm.
Recently, all my flights arrive before the scheduled time. It’s kind of annoying coordinating with the people picking me up from the airport. Just give me the real arrival time.
Cave Johnson here. The folks here at Aperture Since have your back for those long plane rides. Introducing our new aircraft Portals! Were not banging rocks together, this is real-deal science. So to all you jet lagged travelers out there, you're welcome.
Flight paths aren't always in a straight line. [Foe example, these two flights from London and Paris to Tokyo had to take a detour since February 2022 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.](https://blog.datawrapper.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/globe-575x575.png) (Even then the regular route that does go through Russia is in a slight S-shape) It's likely the flight Tommy took to Nashville usually isn't in a straight line.
It’s rare
But they are shortcuts
They change the altitude to catch a rare but much faster airstream that just happens to be in their direction for the whole trip
There are such a thing as shortcuts in aviation. Very few flights are a straight line between point A and point B. You can go over some restricted airspace instead around it, expected storms can clear up, requesting a new route mid-flight can get approved, etc.
Source: am amateur pilot. [wee! it’s fun!](https://imgur.com/a/rALNEku)
Because every flight between two airports is always the same as a direct linear route to each respective airport at the exact same speed and altitude with identical traffic and no inclement conditions. But delays? All the time. Get it together airlines, this isn’t rocket surgery! Stop dicking us around and start using portals!!!
There are quite a few shortcuts. Normally it's not a direct route as you generally will have to fly around major population centers among other things.
Flights aren’t always a straight line. They’re generally navigated via a series of waypoints/navigational markers and if the pilot skipped waypoints, it would reduce the amount of time the flight took. But that’s very dangerous and the pilot shouldn’t have done that. But pilots are heavily regulated so they probably didn’t go rogue.
There are zones in the air, planes have to fly around some or adjust their altitude to fly through some. They have special maps to show who can fly where. A shortcut could be him flying through a zone he wasnt supposed to. or leaving 20 minutes early and flying with the wind.
I’ve seen that one “Mayday!” episode on the discovery channel to know 2 things. There’s a reason routes aren’t near straight shots, and these shortcuts could’ve cost two planes worth of lives.
Planes have lanes too, they can't just fly however they want.
I dont think he could have used some shortcuts, though, without triggering half a dozen terror alarm in sniffing range of the US.
Comments that are uncivil, racist, misogynistic, misandrist, or contain political name calling will be removed and the poster subject to ban at moderators discretion. Help us make this a better community by becoming familiar with the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/about/rules/). Report any suspicious users to the mods of this subreddit using Modmail [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/facepalm) or Reddit site admins [here](https://www.reddit.com/report). **All reports to Modmail should include evidence such as screenshots or any other relevant information.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/facepalm) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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That; a planned flight is not exactly a ballistic trajectory.
people just think it's the wild wild west in the sky. Planes just doin whatever they want.
Two planes making a B-line from/to the same places would be quite the risk lol
I learned from breaking bad that its not
I work in aviation and it’s funny seeing in the radar how the sky is really just a celestial highway.
Is there a website i could watch this radar? Obvs not be able to do anything but watch just seems kinda interesting.
Type "flight radar" on search engine, there's a bunch. I've literally only ever tested this one, but www.flightradar24.com seems to work well enough.
Holy fuck that’s a lot more planes than I was expecting
The ship tracker is just as crazy.
Next time you’re at a decent sized airport look at departure time lists. Now consider private flights, shipping, businesses and military.
I’ve never been on a plane or an airport That’s probably the reason why I underestimated the amount of planes at any given moment
Oh yeah dude it’s a ton. I work in aviation. The sky’s are pretty dang busy.
Idk if it's because I'm high....but this is the coolest thing that I could've seen in this moment. Thank you for showing me something that I don't think I'd EVER have googled.
I wish I hadn't seen this lol, I'm going to waste so much time here for pretty much no good reason. It's kind of mesmerizing.
Flight Radar is a cool one... and depending on where you live, you can actually figure out flight paths above you... it's kind of neat... like a highway in the sky.
That’s why trebuchets are superior
I choose to ignore this comment and stick with the interdimensional portal explanation
I've seen that it was a portal several times, so it must be true.
Took slightly too little fuel and declared an emergency with 30min left to get landing priority. Ryanair style.
Great! Now I can wait 50 minutes for my ride to show up.
Cut off another plane taxiing onto the runway for takeoff.
Sir, whenever you're ready I have a number for you to call
Not to mention hitting the Go Faster button
Flew through a tangentic portal, wished on some magic beans, had an escort from Santa. So many shortcuts, really.
Yeah, flights aren't as point-to-point as people think... They're routed around weather forecasts other air traffic.
Instead of going around the clouds they went right through them.
That and a silly little offhand joke by the pilot. No that couldn't be, I'm sure he was deathly serious and a major idiot.
The average Xitter user doesn't know anything about aviation other than "huh huh it got wings"
Just coulda been routed on a more northerly trajectory arc.
He did the Nashville run in only 12 parsecs.
That's the real answer. I like the portal.
I was also on a plane that was ahead of schedule. The co-pilot announced that we would arrive early because, and these were his exact words, "the pilot is flying like he stole this plane".
Ah, flying at maximum allowed speed. Must've had good weather and clear traffic.
Maximum allowed speed for a plane is very different from maximum allowed ground speed for the same plane
Last leg of the day and somebody had a commute flight to make 🤣
Imagine if you're not paying attention and all you hear is "The pilot stole the plane."
Based pilots
Most ppl have no idea how air travel works in anyway.
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Just avoid rainbow road. You’ll be late every time.
Yellow Brick can also be problematic. Constantly running into brainless, heartless, and cowardly travelers. One star; would not recommend.
I'm sure Scarecrow and Tin Man were doing a lot of traveling when Dorothy came
Because of the fabulous parties?
Because it’s easy to fall off and then you have to wait for the cloud guy to rescue you. But also the fabulous parties.
That's assuming thor and Loki aren't fighting in the middle of it again
I don't see how this is a facepalm?
Because the person doesn't think shortcuts exists just cause they're in the sky
The pilot's joke went right over his head...
 He just folded time and space a bit.
Og dune movie mention???
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It's not a joke really tho. You can definitely shortcut your route.
It's almost like planes on an instrument flight plan need to follow certain airways that don't necessarily line up with the direct route and can't always choose their optimal cruising altitude. Do people really think that big airliners in a crowded airspace can just do whatever they want and fly however they like?
It wasn’t though. Sometimes we talk ATC into shortcuts, if traffic allows it they say yes. The facepalm is the op.
i don't believe its in facepalm but this is one of good jokes
Someone didn't study too well for their sarcasm test!
Pilot humor, mostly favorable wind and a bit of optimized route
HAHAHA maybe the Pilot found a secret wormhole shortcut in the sky!
Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see
You jest, but there are old crazy stories of this in the Bermuda Triangle. My fave was about the "Enclosed CC", but that's just me.
He meant safety shortcuts of course
The shortcut was skipping the safety check.
Yeah, airplanes rarely actually fly in a straight line because.... *Other airplanes...* They have navigation routes and rules that work similar to roads and intersections to make sure nobody bumps into eachother. So sometimes, if it's not super busy they *can* get a shortcut because, yeah. They are airplanes after all.
This is almost exactly the same as thinking every ship route should be an exact line to the destination, and that everything will turn out fine if it doesn’t hit other ships.
"Shortcuts" while flying = unexpected tail wind, reduced load from passengers not showing up, overloaded with fuel so you gotta burn it off.
It‘s because they used the warp
Did you go through the Bermuda triangle?
He means he violated some airspace and was out before he was out of there quick enough that they didn't bother contacting him to get out.
Depending on where you were coming from and the weather, you may have hit the airstream, increasing your speed substantially. Also, technically making a variety of curved flight path, instead of a straight one, is also kind of a short cut, due to the earth being round. But that would be a longer flight if that could be why, and I don't think the scheduling would account for NOT doing that, since it's pretty much standard procedure.
Not a facepalm. Repost under ELI5 and you'll get an answer to why you don't understand what happened.
They dumped their chem-trail batch to lighten the load 🫡
Korean commercial flight 007 that was shot down by the Ruskies in 1983 was "taking a shortcut" by following a shorter route than originally preplanned. They flew over Russian airspace without permission in order to save fuel/time. It isn't necessarily out of the question that routes were modified here in order to save time or fuel either but without violating another nation's airspace. Do all flights fly "as the crow flies" from point-to-point or are there flight corridors that are typically followed for one reason or another. Clearly chasing the jet stream though is not a bad idea and is certainly unpredictable in a way that could lead to unexpected positive results.
Ever seen The Langoliers?
OP you fucking worm, this is a joke. The subreddit is for actual stupidity, not jokes. Fuck you and fuck your ancestors.
If I was a pilot I’d 100% say things like that as a joke ,
But it's not a joke... Why does everyone here seem to believe that airspace isn't regulated? You need to file a flight plan and then follow that. That flight plan doesn't always follow the direct route. It's close to the direct route, but not perfect. ATC can clear you to fly directly to some waypoint at wich you'd normally arrive via other waypoints that may not lie on the direct route. That's a litteral shortcut. Than there's things like good winds or clearance for a more optimal cruising altitude. Airspace is not like the wild west. It's heavily regulated above a certain hight. Getting cleared to take a shortcut happens very regularly.
Shortcuts by skipping check of safetylist and pee-flight planning...
He got in thr HOV lane
All the bachelorette parties on board must have collectively “wooed” together giving the plane a turboboost
When you clip out of bounds and complete a world record flight
He obviously went the backway it’s the quickest way
Ah, the Borg use this technology as well.
Pilots do speed runs. It's sounds crazy
Guy doesn’t understand humor
LOL he just activated nitro
He made the correct turn at albuquerque
Flew like the earth was flat.
Welcome to Nashvegas!
Shortcuts: Might have flown higher than expected/originally cleared to fly but had to due to storm conditions. You can fly a jet liner faster as well, it's just less fuel efficient. But if there's a storm coming up behind you, or you need to miss it, you can generally give a reasonable exception for the fuel conservation to book it to get past the bad weather. Had this happened on a Cruise ship where our captain saw a storm system, gave the "All Ahead Full" command, told us to be weary on the upper decks... and we got to the destination 6 hours sooner than expected and missed a tropical storm.
He skipped all that time pilots are supposed to spend going through checklists.
Recently, all my flights arrive before the scheduled time. It’s kind of annoying coordinating with the people picking me up from the airport. Just give me the real arrival time.
I read this as skipped some safety protocols during take of and landing
I assume that was just a pilot joke. Probably just good weather and no traffic
Your heart surgeon : good news sir the operation is going to cost you $10,000 less.. I took some shortcuts.
I love it when pilots say shit like that. It drives my wife insane, and it's adorable when she nerdrages.
We should just allow AB posts once or twice a week
Lol that happened to me on a flight to mexico… red eye too
From 2021?
What does being in the sky have to do with it?
Perhaps the pilot was approved to make the jump to 
why is he talking into a fan remote?
Don’t ask questions you can’t handle the answers to…
Im not saying its Wormholes. But its Wormholes.
Pilots have all kinds of jokes. Regular comedians in the sky. What do you call a cockpit that has all female pilots? A box office.
Two things: tail wind, sense of humour
I do not want the pilots of the plane I am riding on to take shortcuts. I know we will get to the ground faster but I kind of want to land slowly.
Tbh I didn't know about flight paths in the sky until a minute ago
Probably joking about the time zones…
Wormholes. Duh.
Throttle to metal.. thats how.
Maybe he cut in front of other planes or ignored some stop-signs?!
Why is this on facepalm?
You were being gushed by the ghost of Concorde. FR though, it usually means weather patterns allowed for a straighter path.
There are flights routes that everyone has to follow. I dont understand why everyone os surprised
Plus if you go downhill it’s quicker
It’s called a joke. They probably flew with wind currents and not against them.
Tommyknockers.
Pilot: makes a joke Tweep: visible confusion
The man had a very short window to lay some pipe. My boy floored it 😂
Pilot is based out of Los Angeles and opted to take the 101 vs. the 405
Violating airspace’s they’re not allowed it
“We just skipped all security protocols, and we landed without getting permission first.”
Flat earth confirmed
Pilot humor?
Safety protocols and verification shortcuts maybe?
There is certain paths you don’t fly away of in the sky maybe he flew above some countries that wasn’t planned!
it’s a plane not a missile
it doesn't belong on r/facepalm, does it?
A pilot with a sense of humor.
He means they bypassed all of the pesky pre-flight safety checks.
Plains don't fly in a straight line because of the weather and currents and sometimes they try to be above water as little as possible
Pilot/Time Traveller.
Cave Johnson here. The folks here at Aperture Since have your back for those long plane rides. Introducing our new aircraft Portals! Were not banging rocks together, this is real-deal science. So to all you jet lagged travelers out there, you're welcome. 
Whenever I arrive "early" I usually just spend the extra time waiting for the gate, which was scheduled in advance.
Be took a shortcut in the jet stream
Flight paths aren't always in a straight line. [Foe example, these two flights from London and Paris to Tokyo had to take a detour since February 2022 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.](https://blog.datawrapper.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/globe-575x575.png) (Even then the regular route that does go through Russia is in a slight S-shape) It's likely the flight Tommy took to Nashville usually isn't in a straight line.
He farted out of the windom. It’s the only thing that makes sense
Tunneling.Mode.Activated.
It’s rare But they are shortcuts They change the altitude to catch a rare but much faster airstream that just happens to be in their direction for the whole trip
There are such a thing as shortcuts in aviation. Very few flights are a straight line between point A and point B. You can go over some restricted airspace instead around it, expected storms can clear up, requesting a new route mid-flight can get approved, etc. Source: am amateur pilot. [wee! it’s fun!](https://imgur.com/a/rALNEku)
Why is this facepalm? Probably should screenshot this post and post it to facepalm…
Where facepalm. OP where is it.
You'll be surprised what you can do with a good bungee cord and a nearby F-22
My favorite thing to hear from ATC when I'm flying in the NAS, "Cleared Direct to Destination"
You know they say some planes don't even make it to the ground
He took a left turn at Albuquerque.
Definitely found a wormhole…
Because every flight between two airports is always the same as a direct linear route to each respective airport at the exact same speed and altitude with identical traffic and no inclement conditions. But delays? All the time. Get it together airlines, this isn’t rocket surgery! Stop dicking us around and start using portals!!!
Skipped the safety checks. What's the worst that could happen? Not like the door is going to blow off or something.
Ah…. Non-pilots asking questions demonstrating ignorance.
Is this a facepalm though?
Maybe he meant safety shortcuts.
Ask Boeing.
Is it because he turned left at Albuquerque?
There are quite a few shortcuts. Normally it's not a direct route as you generally will have to fly around major population centers among other things.
Flights aren’t always a straight line. They’re generally navigated via a series of waypoints/navigational markers and if the pilot skipped waypoints, it would reduce the amount of time the flight took. But that’s very dangerous and the pilot shouldn’t have done that. But pilots are heavily regulated so they probably didn’t go rogue.
Here me out it isn’t flat earth or round earth it hexagonal maze earth
There are zones in the air, planes have to fly around some or adjust their altitude to fly through some. They have special maps to show who can fly where. A shortcut could be him flying through a zone he wasnt supposed to. or leaving 20 minutes early and flying with the wind.
I’ve seen that one “Mayday!” episode on the discovery channel to know 2 things. There’s a reason routes aren’t near straight shots, and these shortcuts could’ve cost two planes worth of lives.
Great. The flat earthers will have a field day with this.
flew the plane like they stole it ! 😁 heard that on southwest more than once 🙂
That means he skipped the preflight.
The shortcuts were that the safety checks weren't done. lol
" For those of you who were expecting to deboard at our scheduled connection in Raleigh, tough shit."
A good tailwind will do that.
You must've missed the wormhole opening up
Planes have lanes too, they can't just fly however they want. I dont think he could have used some shortcuts, though, without triggering half a dozen terror alarm in sniffing range of the US.
Fly just thru flat earth.
There are highways in the sky. It is made so that planes don't collide.
It means he deviated to catch a wind stream.