Question

you are piloting a small plane and you want to reach an airport 450 km due south in 3.0 h a wind is blowing from the west 50.0 km/h what heading and airspeed should you choose to reach your destination in time

Answer 1

Answer:

You should choose airspeed 158.11 km/h at 18.4° west of south

Explanation:

The distance to the air port is 450 km due to south

You should to reach the airport in 3 hours

→ Velocity = distance ÷ time

→ Distance = 450 km , time = 3 hours

→ The velocity of your plane = 450 ÷ 3 = 150 km/h due to south

A wind is blowing from west 50 km/h

We need to know what heading and airspeed you should choose to

reach your destination

At first we must find the resultant velocity of your plane and the wind

The south and west are perpendicular, then the resultant velocity is

→ $v_{R}=\sqrt{(v_{p})^{2}+(v_{w})^{2}}$

→ $v_{p}=150$ km/h ,  $v_{w}=50$ km/h

→ $v_{R}=\sqrt{(150)^{2}+(50)^{2}}=158.11$ km/h

To cancel the velocity of the wind, the pilot should maintain the velocity

of the plane at 158.11 km/h

The direction of the velocity is the angle between the resultant velocity

and the vertical (south)

→ The direction of the velocity is $tan^{-1}\frac{50}{150}=18.4$°

The direction of the velocity is 18.4° west of south

You should choose airspeed 158.11 km/h at 18.4° west of south