climb gradient vs flight path angle

[aterpster]

flyer:

I agree that I'm adding another "twist" that wasn't stated in the original question, but a headwind gradient (increasing headwind with altitude) absolutely does boost the climb rate. So does a reverse tailwind gradient (decreasing tailwind with altitude) but this is much less common. We climb through some amount of headwind gradient on nearly every takeoff.

Wind gradient? How about wind component?

Here is what my PC's Webster dictionary has to say about the word gradient:

gradient

gra·di·ent [gráydee ?nt] noun (plural gra·di·ents)

1.slope: an upward or downward slope, for example, in a road or railroad

2.steepness: the rate at which the steepness of a slope increases

3.PHYSICS measure of change: a measure of change in a physical quantity such as temperature or pressure over a specified distance

4.BIOLOGY rate of growth: any of a series of changes in the rate of growth or metabolism of an organism, cell, or organ

5.MATHEMATICS slope on a curve: the slope of a line or a tangent at any point on a curve

adjective

sloping: sloping evenly and uniformly

Encarta® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1999,2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.