I keep seeing this claim come up in nonsense videos… and then I see people trying to refute it, but the problem is, often none of the parties have any experience actually flying an aircraft.
For once and for all.. No..a plane does NOT have to dip it’s nose to follow the curve of the earth. A plane can both climb and descend with it’s nose decidedly “pointed up”… There is a subtle combination of power adjustments and pitch adjustments that are made to maintain level flight… meaning, just as you drive a car making minute adjustments on the steering wheel to track straight on the road, a pilot makes adjustments to maintain level flight — which includes maintaining a fixed altitude.
In the manner I was taught to fly, in level flight, primarily you can use pitch (nose up or down) to control the air speed of the plane, more down means faster, more up means slower, and use power, up or down, to maintain altitude.
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