PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Question stuck with on Nav in Air Pilots manual
Old 6th Mar 2009, 15:21
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Deeday
 
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unless HEADING (not track) and WIND are at 90 degrees there will always be a head/tail component.
I'm afraid you are getting confused more than I am...
I'm not sure that the head/tail component of the wind, relative to the heading, is of any interest. If you want to fly straight from A to B, what pushes you, or slows you down, is the head/tail wind component relative to your trajectory - i.e. track.
In other words: the HDG/TAS vector represents the motion of the aircraft relative to the air mass, while the W/V vector represents the motion of the air mass relative to the ground. The two vectors are completely independent of each other.
The aircraft, happily 'floating' in the air mass, doesn't give a toss where the air mass is going, and what the component of the W/V vector is, relative to its heading. The pilot, on the other hand, does give a toss, because he wants to navigate with relation to the ground, not to the air mass, so what the air mass is doing relative to the ground (= wind component along track) becomes important.
If you are not convinced, apply a 'crosswind' of, say, 100kts and see how fast you go along track.
Not sure what you mean mate, if you can expand it.

Deeday
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