### Why Real-World Flights Don't Show Extreme Time Differences

#### 1. **Earth's Atmosphere Moves With the Planet**
The key difference between our hypothetical scenarios and real-world aviation is that **Earth's atmosphere rotates with the planet**. When an aircraft takes off:

- It already has the Earth's eastward rotational velocity (~700 mph at mid-latitudes)
- It flies through air that's also moving eastward at roughly the same speed
- The plane's speed is measured **relative to this moving air mass**

This means the Earth's rotation doesn't create a massive speed advantage/disadvantage in either direction.

#### 2. **How This Affects Flight Times**
For a typical commercial jet (500-600 mph airspeed):

- **Eastbound flights** (with the rotation):
  - May get a small boost from jet streams (+100-200 mph)
  - Actual speed over ground: ~600 + 100 = 700 mph

- **Westbound flights** (against the rotation):
  - Face headwinds from jet streams (-100-200 mph)
  - Actual speed over ground: ~600 - 100 = 500 mph

This creates time differences of **10-60 minutes** on transcontinental flights - not the extreme differences in our scenarios.

#### 3. **Why Our Scenarios Were Different**
Our calculations assumed:

1. A **stationary atmosphere** (not moving with the Earth/train)
2. **Extreme speeds** (700 mph matches Earth's rotation)
3. **Very short distances** (20 miles)

This created unrealistic conditions where:
- Westbound flights got a **double speed boost** (aircraft speed + Earth's motion)
- Eastbound flights had their speed **nearly canceled out** (aircraft speed - Earth's motion)

#### 4. **Real-World Flight Examples**
- **NY to LA (Westbound):** ~5.5 hours
- **LA to NY (Eastbound):** ~5 hours 
- Difference: ~30 minutes (5%) from jet streams

- **Chicago to Denver (Westbound):** ~2.5 hours
- **Denver to Chicago (Eastbound):** ~2.3 hours
- Difference: ~12 minutes (8%)

#### 5. **Key Takeaways**
1. The atmosphere's rotation with Earth **cancels out** most rotational effects
2. Jet streams cause **modest** time differences (minutes, not hours)
3. Our scenarios were intentionally exaggerated to study physics principles
4. Real flight planning focuses on **wind patterns**, not Earth's rotation

**Want me to:**  
- Show how to adjust our scenarios to match real-world conditions?
- Explain how pilots actually account for Earth's rotation?
- Compare with supersonic flight scenarios?