If a Helicopter hovers in a fixed position and the Earth continues to rotate where will the Heli end up?

Question

Will it rotate with the Earth. Does gravity win?

Answer 1

throw a ball STRAIGHT up in the air......... what happens?

its not about gravity exactly, its alot to do with momentum.

Answer 2

It can only hover in a fixed position related to earth's surface.  If it did not rotate with the surface it would be moving up to 1000mph at the equator.  Helicopters can not go that fast.  I guess the only places where this would be possible are at the north and south poles.  They could hover there and merely be pointing another direction when they finally landed but in the same spot.  Gravity doesn't really have anything to do with it staying over the same spot on the earth, that's just wind resistance.

Answer 3

It will end up in the same place as the spot it's hovering over ends up.

Answer 4

i think the air moves with the planet so i think the ground would be the answer because of the pilots choice.

Answer 5

The earth is rotating at 467 m per second, so any helicopter would just float away if what you're suggesting was true.

There's probably some drift over a long period of time, but not much.

Answer 6

im pretty sure the helicopter will rotate with the earth because the earth's atmosphere is also rotating so everything in the atmosphere would rotate along with the earth. the atmosphere is still matter and would be affected by the rotating motion.

Answer 7

The helicopter, along with the earth's atmosphere, would rotate right along with the earth, so the heli that was hovering in a fixed position would end up in the same fixed position.  

If you need proof of this, get on an airplane.  Once the plane is in flight, get up, stand in the aisle, and jump.  You will land right where you jumped (rather than flying backward and being smashed into the bathroom wall).  The plane is obviously moving, and when you jumped you were in essence hovering over a fixed position on the plane's floor.  But you and the air in the plane moved right along with the plane.  

Hope this makes sense.

Answer 8

Gravity will win eventually when the helicopter's fuel runs out and it falls back down.

Gravity has nothing to do with the helicopter staying in a fixed position with respect to the ground.

When you are in a train travelling at a very high speed and you jump do you hit the back of the train?  No.

Answer 9

the helicopter works by pushing air down and around. Because the Atmosphere keeps the air in and it rotates with the Earth so does the air. So the helicopter will rotate with the Earth and keep it's forward motion.