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Old 13th Jan 2014, 17:23
  #27 (permalink)  
keith williams
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: England
Posts: 661
Received 20 Likes on 13 Posts
An aircraft in flight cannot experience any airflow due to wind as such.
So how is that kites can fly?

They have no engines or propellers, so any airflow over them is due to the wind. They are being supported by a lift force that is being generated solely by this wind. Their entire ability to stay aloft is provided by the wind flowing over them.

So in what sense are they not "experiencing" the wind?

I could just as easily say that I cannot experience the wind. If it gets strong enough it will blow me over, but I cannot smell it or see it. I can feel the air moving over me, but then so could the aircraft (if it could feel anything).

It is the use of terms like "aircraft cannot experience the wind" that have caused the OP to become so confused. So how successful was that lesson?
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