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Effects of Wind

Winds can cause aircraft to drift off course and affect ground speed. The wind correction angle is used to point the aircraft in a different direction than the intended course to counteract wind drift. Ground speed is reduced by headwinds and increased by tailwinds compared to the aircraft's true airspeed. The wind triangle diagram relates wind direction and speed graphically to calculate wind correction angle and impact on ground speed.

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88 views15 pages

Effects of Wind

Winds can cause aircraft to drift off course and affect ground speed. The wind correction angle is used to point the aircraft in a different direction than the intended course to counteract wind drift. Ground speed is reduced by headwinds and increased by tailwinds compared to the aircraft's true airspeed. The wind triangle diagram relates wind direction and speed graphically to calculate wind correction angle and impact on ground speed.

Uploaded by

Shane Vince
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Effects Of Wind

ATRN 214
Objectives

• Develop an intuition on the effects of winds in navigation


• Calculate wind correction angle and ground speed
Effects of Wind

B
More formally…
Just like river currents, winds can
have a direct impact on air
navigation. Winds can throw you off
course, and affect range if not
addressed properly.
Determining Wind Direction

We determine the direction of


wind from where it is blowing
from.
Wind Components

Crosswind is perpendicular to the


line or direction of travel.

A tailwind is a wind that blows in the


direction of travel of an object, while
a headwind blows against the
direction of travel.
Wind Correction
Angle (WCA)
To correct the drifting effect of wind,
you need to point you aircraft in
different direction as your intended
course. The difference between
heading and course is the wind
correction angle

+ 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑊𝐶𝐴
𝐻𝐷𝐺 = 𝐶𝑅𝑆 − 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑊𝐶𝐴
Ground speed
Just like how winds make you drift, it + 𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑
can also speed up or slow down your 𝐺𝑆 = 𝑇𝐴𝑆 − ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑
speed. The resulting aircraft speed
accounted for effects of wind is
called ground speed

Tailwind

Headwind
The Wind Triangle
How much do you remember from trigonometry?
B

70° 30°
A C
Law of Sines and Cosines
B
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
= =
sin 𝐴 sin 𝐵 sin 𝐶 a
c

A C
𝑎2 = 𝑏2 + 𝑐 2 − 2𝑏𝑐 cos 𝐴 b
𝑏2 = 𝑎2 + 𝑐 2 − 2𝑎𝑐 cos 𝐵
𝑐2 = 𝑎2 + 𝑏2 − 2𝑎𝑏 cos 𝐶
N
Given:
Course: 060
Wind: 170 / 25kt
Aircraft true airspeed: 100kt
Solve:
WCA
GS

Remember the placement of arrows in the wind triangle


Given:
Course: 120
Wind: 080 / 15kt
Aircraft true airspeed: 90kt
Solve:
WCA
GS

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