Why fly when you can apparate?

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 175533

Allie:


> > I suppose this was just for the sake of the plot,
> > but several times when Harry is somewhere that
> > Voldemort is rushing to get, Harry pictures him
> > flying over landscapes.

> > Flying? Why fly?

> > Apparition is much, much faster! ..

bboyminn:

> JKR indicated long ago that each form of magical 
> travel had its limits. Though she never spells it 
> out, it seems the limit to Apparation is how long 
> you can hold your breath. Certainly you can travel 
> far and fast, but not /that/ far and not /that/fast.

> Let's assume that you can travel 100 miles in 30 
> seconds. That seems about right based on what I am 
> seeing in the books. That means you can comfortably 
> travel 150 miles in 45 seconds. If you really push 
> it to the limits, you can travel 200 miles in 1 minute. 
> Some might be able to stretch if farther, but it's 
> getting difficult after that.

houyhnhnm:

Voldemort was on his way back from Nurmengard to Malfoy 
Manor when Harry saw him "flying through the sky from far 
away, over a dark and stormy sea [snort], and soon he 
would be close enough to Apparate . . . ."

Between Central Europe and Wiltshire, the only body 
of water that would be passed over is the English Channel.  
In fact, a straight line from  Nuremburg (some have noted 
the similarity in names) to Wiltshire would pass more or 
less over Calais and intersect the the English coast a 
little south of Dover.  So, Calais to Salisbury=440 miles, 
too far to Apparate.  Dover to Salisbury=171 miles, not 
too far to Apparate. 

I can see the advantage of flying on short hops, too, 
especially if you are a paranoid evil Dark Lord.  It's 
possible to see what's going on on the ground.  What I 
don't see is the advantage of flying under your own power 
over flying on a broom.  I guess it's that you don't have 
to carry it around once you land.

Having the maximum Apparition range dependent on the time 
one can hold one's breath makes a lot of sense to me.  
There was a question about distance limits to Apparition 
on the W.O.M.B.A.T. Grade 3.  I think I missed it.