Question

An airplane is traveling at a speed of 240 mph with a bearing of 110° the wind velocity is 56 mph at a bearing of 325° what are the planes actual speed and direction angle

Answer 1

1 answer · Mathematics
Best Answer
"Bearing" is the relative position of an object outside the plane compared to the position of the plane.
Heading the the direction the nose of the plane is pointing
Course is the direction that pilot wants the plane to go.
And I am not sure what you call the wind direction other than direction. Wind direction is always the direction the wind is blowing from.

An airplane is traveling at a speed of 240 miles/hour with a HEADING of 110°

If the plane is heading 110 and the wind is blowing from 325
325 - 110 = 215.
215-180 = 35.

you have a "quartering tail wind." Ground speed will be in excess of the airspeed. True course will be south if the indicated heading.

Tailwind component = 56 cos (35) = 46
cross wind component = 56 sin (35) = 32
course deviation = tan^-1(32) / (286) = 6 degrees
116 degrees at 286 kts

this is actually a slight bit of shorthand.
slightly more precise is C^2 = 286^2 + 32^2
C = 288
and you could have used the law of cosines.