Now this is a question I can not answer for myself, and others can not easily explain. So bare with me, as I am hoping there is a simple reason for what I have seen several times.
on two aircraft types, a J430 and now an RV-10 when a strong headwind or quartering headwind is experienced, the IAS and TAS would seem to be a few knots slower than turning and running with a tail wind component. I wish I could give more details of exact numbers, but in the past its been an observation and not a fact taking exercise.
This last week, while tracking a radial on a VOR, at low level (3000') we had a strong headwind around 20 knots, from the 10 oclock position, at a point in time we quickly entered a less headwind area, say 10 knots, the wind vectors all changed and our GS improved. The TAS improved also by several knots.
We have a pretty good system in this plane for instantaneous data, where as when I had seen this before it was just the ASI and mental maths, or the air computer in the Garmin 296, mind you the results were the same. A change in headwind component and or heading to get the tail wind instead, yielded same results.
Ask any questions........ challenge my observations, I just want to know where there may either be an error in my ways, or is there some slight efficiency of the airframe and prop in cetain conditions that we do not normally account for.
Thanks!
J
