When I think of bending light, I think of something like this.
So now we are presented with a theory that light always bends, and at a curve, too. So I think we can define "Bendy Light" as a light beam, through some magical force or field of some kind or another, that is constantly, at every moment that it moves through space, curving slightly downward. If it starts out going up, it will slow, and finally make a turn towards the ground, making a curve that I am told resembles a graph of y=x^1.5.
This way, when a beam of light reaches a ship and (assuming it got there safely) reflects off, it goes towards an observer, bending constantly downward. So therefore, even if the Earth is flat, at a certain distance, the light will eventually hit the ground and no longer be visible, a phenomenon we call the horizon.
To name the first problem that comes to mind: light reflects. We cannot deny this, as it reflected off the ship in the first place, it reflects off of tables and books and food, which is what allows us to see those things. Light reflects, and when a light beam curves downward, it eventually hits the hard, flat ground. But, you see, then it reflects off of the ground, especially if it's a ship and the light hits water which is well-known for being reflective. What happens then? Well, it bounces off at an opposite angle, and presumably curves downward again. Remember, all light all around the world does this, so we should be able to see, in front of us, at all times, a faint shadow of the entire world and everything that's been bending to the ground and reflecting, then bending back again and reflecting again, over and over, dancing to the four corners of the Earth, albeit weakened from many reflections.
The problem with this - and I'm as disappointed about this as you - is that we don't see a faint mirage of everything everywhere all the time. So this can't be true.
Besides that, it's unclear how far this field of bending extends. It seems to me that, when debating about otherwordly images, FE'ers assume the normal properties of light, so does this mean that the field doesn't extend into space? Does it pervade throughout the whole universe, or is it just some freaky effect of the Earth itself (being abnormally flat, as it is)? We don't even know what's under the flat Earth.
Also, if it does only go through Earth, how far? Does it always exist beyond the atmosphere, or is it below the atmosphere, near the southern circumference of the Earth (the Antarctic expeditions being fake and all)?
Finally, it's unclear whether the "Bendy Light" affects the light of the sun, moon, planets, and stars. If so, does it only begin to bend when entering the Earth's atmosphere?