Flight simulator - 150 MPH Head Winds....

Author

150 MPH Head Winds....

Bill H

2006-02-27, 7:37 pm

So i flew IRL to Birmingham England VIA Frankfurt Germany, Flew home VIA
Mnich TO ORD>

on the return flight, the GPS in my headrest said we were flying into 150
mph plus head winds. holy crap are you serious? next quetion, is how do they
calculate that? two observations during the trip. 1 Greenland looks like a
Beautiful contry. is there anything to do there fun vacationing? 2 Germany
has some of the biggest airports i have ever seem. mammouth. the 767-300 I
flew back on I swear took 3 miles before he rotated. I am sure i am
exagerating but i have never been on a plane with the nose up and still on
the ground for so long in my life. The 747-400 i took over there was up
quite quick in comparison.

Beech45Whiskey

2006-02-27, 7:37 pm

Bill H <me@me.com> wrote:

quote:

> on the return flight, the GPS in my headrest said we were flying into 150
> mph plus head winds. holy crap are you serious? next quetion, is how do they
> calculate that?

Not sure what GPS unit you were using, but the IFR-certified GPSs popular
in today's GA aircraft all have this function.

To calculate headwinds, the GPS uses true airspeed (speed through the air),
groundspeed (speed over the ground), course, and actual heading.

Using vector math/formulas, the GPS is then able to derive wind speeds.

--
Peter

Tom Peel

2006-02-27, 7:37 pm

Bill H wrote:

quote:

> So i flew IRL to Birmingham England VIA Frankfurt Germany, Flew home VIA
> Mnich TO ORD>
>
> on the return flight, the GPS in my headrest said we were flying into 150
> mph plus head winds. holy crap are you serious?

Yes, the jetstream over the Atlantic does have very strong winds, from
West to East. The airlines choose routes that try to avoid them, but it
is not always possible. The upside is, for flights from the USA to
Europe, it's a tailwind and makes the plane much faster. If you look at
the schedules, you'll see that Eastbound flights are typically 1 hour or
so shorter than Westbound.

next quetion, is how do they

quote:

> calculate that? two observations during the trip. 1 Greenland looks like a
> Beautiful contry. is there anything to do there fun vacationing? 2 Germany
> has some of the biggest airports i have ever seem. mammouth.

Munich airport was built as a green field project with lots of land.
the 767-300 I

quote:

> flew back on I swear took 3 miles before he rotated.

Runway length 13123 ft, so it's not quite 3 miles <g>.

I am sure i am

quote:

> exagerating but i have never been on a plane with the nose up and still on
> the ground for so long in my life. The 747-400 i took over there was up
> quite quick in comparison.
>
>
>
>
>
>

Dallas

2006-02-27, 7:37 pm

"Bill H"

quote:

> Greenland looks like a
> Beautiful contry. is there anything to do there fun vacationing?

The early Viking settlers weren't very impressed with Greenland... at least
in the end when the one's who didn't leave froze to death.

But, I guess there is a vacation industry there:

http://www.greenland-guide.gl/

Dallas

CRaSH

2006-02-27, 11:32 pm

Dallas wrote:

quote:

> "Bill H"
>
> The early Viking settlers weren't very impressed with Greenland...
> at least in the end when the one's who didn't leave froze to death.
>
> But, I guess there is a vacation industry there:
>

yeah, some great natural thermal spas!! Hear that DrButts?? <G>

Bill H

2006-02-28, 7:33 pm

"Dallas" <Cybnorm@spam_me_not.Hotmail.Com> wrote in message
news:L5MMf.3916$VI6.1403@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...

quote:

>
> "Bill H"
>
> The early Viking settlers weren't very impressed with Greenland... at
> least
> in the end when the one's who didn't leave froze to death.
>
> But, I guess there is a vacation industry there:
>
> http://www.greenland-guide.gl/
>
> Dallas

it just looked amazing from the air.

quote:

>
>
>