3 ms·

The ground speed will vary, but the airspeed will not be affected by wind (except momentarily for gusts or shears). The poster I replied to was implying that d

The ground speed will vary, but the airspeed will not be affected by wind (except momentarily for gusts or shears). The poster I replied to was implying that due to the strong tailwind, they had to maintain an increased airspeed. That is incorrect. The airplane has no idea it is in a tailwind, and airspeed will be unchanged.

JshWright 7y ago
I don't think anyone other than you interpreted the comment that way.
- mritun 7y ago
  I did. Saying “everyone” when it’s just probably one person is not usually ok. It’s fine to say if you interpreted the comment in a certain way, and ok to be the outlier. But assuming your interpretation applies to others more broadly than it does, is counterproductive.
  - JshWright 7y ago
    Both comments were significantly downvoted at the time of my comment, which was what I was referring to. The original comment explicitly mentioned "relative airspeed", which I thought was pretty clear (it's the speed of the plane relative to the air that matters). I think calling it a "common misconception" is also assuming a lot.
    - danaliv 7y ago
      I teach people how to fly. Trust me when I say that this is an extremely common misconception. It's one of the concepts students have the greatest difficulty wrapping their heads around.
      - JshWright 7y ago
        Do these people never use treadmills or trains?
dTal 7y ago
I think the root of disagreement here is that to you, as a pilot, "speed" means airspeed. But to a layperson, "speed" means groundspeed. So saying that an airplane with a tailwind "must go faster to keep enough air going over the wings" reads very strangely to you, as (although it is technically correct) it belies a groundspeed-first type of thinking that is a poor intuition for staying alive in a plane.
pdonis 7y ago
> The poster I replied to was implying that due to the strong tailwind, they had to maintain an increased airspeed. No, he wasn't. He explicitly said the opposite: "higher ground speed to keep the same relative air speed."
- danaliv 7y ago
  I think the confusion here is stemming in part from the fact that "relative airspeed" isn't a well-defined term. In aviation airspeed means the speed of the airplane through the air (modulo specifiers for true vs. indicated vs. calibrated airspeed).
  - pdonis 7y ago
    > "relative airspeed" isn't a well-defined term The original was "relative air speed", which I would simply take as the way a person not familiar with aviation terminology would say "airspeed"--speed relative to the air.

JshWright 7y ago

I don't think anyone other than you interpreted the comment that way.

mritun 7y ago
I did. Saying “everyone” when it’s just probably one person is not usually ok. It’s fine to say if you interpreted the comment in a certain way, and ok to be the outlier. But assuming your interpretation applies to others more broadly than it does, is counterproductive.
- JshWright 7y ago
  Both comments were significantly downvoted at the time of my comment, which was what I was referring to. The original comment explicitly mentioned "relative airspeed", which I thought was pretty clear (it's the speed of the plane relative to the air that matters). I think calling it a "common misconception" is also assuming a lot.
  - danaliv 7y ago
    I teach people how to fly. Trust me when I say that this is an extremely common misconception. It's one of the concepts students have the greatest difficulty wrapping their heads around.
    - JshWright 7y ago
      Do these people never use treadmills or trains?

dTal 7y ago

I think the root of disagreement here is that to you, as a pilot, "speed" means airspeed. But to a layperson, "speed" means groundspeed. So saying that an airplane with a tailwind "must go faster to keep enough air going over the wings" reads very strangely to you, as (although it is technically correct) it belies a groundspeed-first type of thinking that is a poor intuition for staying alive in a plane.

pdonis 7y ago

> The poster I replied to was implying that due to the strong tailwind, they had to maintain an increased airspeed. No, he wasn't. He explicitly said the opposite: "higher ground speed to keep the same relative air speed."

danaliv 7y ago
I think the confusion here is stemming in part from the fact that "relative airspeed" isn't a well-defined term. In aviation airspeed means the speed of the airplane through the air (modulo specifiers for true vs. indicated vs. calibrated airspeed).
- pdonis 7y ago
  > "relative airspeed" isn't a well-defined term The original was "relative air speed", which I would simply take as the way a person not familiar with aviation terminology would say "airspeed"--speed relative to the air.