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Old 18th Jul 2007, 12:49
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safetypee
 
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A pedantic point f-f bob, but I understand that it is the performance that is factored not the wind. Often many pilots fall into similar traps where they assume that ‘factoring’ takes care of all eventualities (IRR – “detailed performance analysis to ensure the safety of the flight”). Of particular interest would be the accuracy of wind reports; see 2001 ‘Safety aspects of tailwind operations’ and the other reports relating to wind.
I assume that factored performance does not account for errors in wind measurement, thus the application of additional safety margins is another of those items which crews are expected to be aware of and use ‘airmanship’ to decide when to apply them.

My advice for those using factored information is to consider that the risk of you making an error is proportional to the applied factor, thus in a tailwind you are 150% 'more likely' to get something wrong.
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