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Old 18th April 2008 | 23:15
  #45 (permalink)  
flyr767
 
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 33
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From: Chicago
You can find both the headwind or tailwind and the crosswind with this formula (a TI-83 calculator will do well with this):

sin(wind_direction-current_heading)*wind_speed = headwind or tailwind component

cos(wind_direction-current_heading)*wind_speed = crosswind

For headwinds and tailwinds, a negative number means a tailwind and naturally a positive number is a headwind.

For crosswinds, a negative number is from the left. A positive number means winds are from the right. Hope this helps!
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