Great post man. I work with a guy who believes the earth is flat and because I try to consider all possibilities I did spend a bit of time a few months ago looking into it and I can see why some people get sucked in. The funny thing is that because I didn't rudely or arrogantly dismiss his views and actually looked into it, most mornings people that sit near him in work walk past my desk and make stupid jokes implying that I am a flat earther, simply because I looked into it.
I'll forward this post to the my colleague to see if he has an answer for the flight times you point out in your post.
There are far more important things to be looking into than flat earth and you're right that it divides people and stops them from looking into other more important topics.
Thanks @jimbobbill. I wish you luck with the guy at work. I hope that he takes it seriously, many just seem to dismiss it and reply with 'but what about X'? On the surface I can see why some people may believe in a flat earth. They do have a few decent arguments to support the belief. But not nearly enough for me to change my position.
I did receive a reply from someone who doesn't believe the earth is flat but is open minded and likes to play devils advocate. He wrote the following...
Well the southern hemisphere planes would need to be flying at over 1,000 mph (1,600 kmh) for that to work.
I think he is right.