You are boating on a river that flows toward the east. Because of your knowledge of physics, you head your...?

Question

An airplane flies at 200.0 km/h relative to the air. What is the velocity of the plane relative to the ground if it flies during the following wind conditions?

a. 50.0-km/h tailwind

b. 50.0-km/h headwind

I'm confused on this problem.
Please help!

I asked this question before, but the answers were not helpful.

Answer 1

The plane would be flying at 200 true airspeed with a 50.0 hm/h tailwind (the wind is blowing on the tail of the plane, in essence pushing it thorough the air). You simply add the two figures together to get your true ground speed (the speed that you would cover the ground) and it would be 250 km/h.

The plane would be flying at 200 true air speed with a 50 km/h headwind (wind is blowing toward the nose of the airplane and is slowing the airplane down.) Your true ground speed will be 150 km/h.

Answer 2

With the tailwind you add the velocities to get 250 kph. With the headwind you subtract it to get 150 kph. If the wind was at an angle, you'd draw two lines whose lengths are proportional to the two velocitiesand in the same direction. The third side of the triangle would give the size and direction of the plane's track (path over the ground). Take a look at plane timetables. In temperate latitudes, like the North Atlantic, where prevailing winds are from the west, eastbound flights, like New York to London take less time than the westbound flight against the prevailing winds. That's one reason why commercial flight levels are at about the altitude of the jet stream. You either take advantage of the jet stream or you avoid it, depending on which way you're flying. It saves fuel.

Answer 3

ask god he knows all the answers