Ask the Captain: The zaniest reader questions about flying

For this week's column, we will not be including names of the readers who submitted the questions. You'll understand why.

Question: When flying to China or Australia, does the plane fly upside down? With the earth being round, it would seem that it would at some point.

A:The airplane stays oriented exactly the same no matter where it is around the world. Just as people standing on the ground in North America and Australia view up and down the same way being oriented to the ground.

Q: Why do planes fly over oceans?

A:Because over 70% of our planet is covered by water.

Q: Can commercial jets hover? When I'm driving I see them hover by and just sit there for a few moments.

A:No, commercial jets do not hover.

Q: Does the pilot have to take the earth's rotation into his/her takeoff and landing calculations?

A: No, that is not considered.

Q: I think that aircraft should have a transformation program that turns the aircraft into a boat to be able to land on water.

A: The transformer idea is fiction, not fact.

Q: Golf balls supposedly fly farther because they have dimples. Has any airplane skin ever been dimpled to reduce drag?

A: I have never heard of an airplane being dimpled.

Q: Could the disappearance of MH370 be alien abduction?

A:Because I have never seen any proof of aliens, my answer would be no.

Q: I have a pilot's license, can I fly the airplane the next time I travel?

A: No.

Q: Dear Captain Cox, I appreciate your column. Could you try to have more of a sense of humor?

A: I will try. One of the challenges of the column is trying to figure out if a question is asked seriously or humorously. Several questions have caused me to chuckle.

John Cox is a retired airline captain with US Airways and runs his own aviation safety consulting company, Safety Operating Systems.