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Weekend


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May 9, 2003

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. Stands to reason that a plane flying into the wind will be slowed compared to one flying with a tailwind. By how much? Might a plane in a stiff wind wind up flying backward?

    A. Airspeed = Ground Speed - Wind Speed, plain and simple. Think of aircraft as traveling on a treadmill of air, says Elizabeth Wood in "Science from Your Airplane Window." Going by a posted United schedule, says Purdue aerospace engineering professor Steven Collicott, "I see it takes six hours to fly nonstop from New York to Los Angeles, but only five hours to return. At this latitude, the prevailing winds and jet streams are on average west to east. One hour out of six may not be much to someone working a notebook computer, but for someone traveling with four kids, it is."


     
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