3 ms·
Yes. It's been done a lot. I was at an Oshkosh EAA Fly-In in the late 80s as an ultralight club was trying to take off to travel back home. But the headwinds we
by wmeredith 4y ago
Yes. It's been done a lot. I was at an Oshkosh EAA Fly-In in the late 80s as an ultralight club was trying to take off to travel back home. But the headwinds were crazy that day. We watched these guys take off repeatedly without moving forward and then slowly drift back before giving up and landing behind where they took off. It was pretty amusing.
If the wind is strong enough, the wings are just sails; you can catch it like a kite, and up you go.
Headwind is a significant consideration of pretty much every take-off and landing. For instance, battle-ready aircraft carriers constantly maintain a position with their catapults launching into the wind.