flight patterns

How planes travel

Flight patterns are the regular routes or paths aircraft follow through airspace, established for safety and efficiency: Air traffic control monitors flight patterns around major airports.

The term extends to the predictable movements of birds, insects, or other flying creatures: Scientists tracked the migration flight patterns of monarch butterflies.

Figuratively, it can describe any recurring trajectory or routine.

Related

air traffic control · gliding · celestial navigation · jet streams · V-formation · migratory routes · magnetic fields · hovering · flyways · adaptive strategies · radar tracking · species · waypoints · air traffic · storm systems · swooping · thermals · mountain ranges

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Opposites
mode of travel

flight patternsroad networks

Connected paths for vehicles

highway systems · rail routes · driving routes · railway lines · shipping lanes

movement type

flight patternsimmobility

Lack of motion

groundedness · rootedness

movement vs. stillness

flight patternsholding patterns

Aircraft delay orbits

Family

flight, patterns

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Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G