How Do You Calculate the Correct Heading for an Airplane in Wind?

[byronsakic]

The wind is blowing N 75 degrees East at 96 km/h. A plane is flying with air speed 320 km/h. Find the heading the plane must have in order to get from A to B, if B is S40 degrees W of A. Include a diagram in your solution.

Alright, i am totally lost.
Could someone please maybe put on some tips or who may know what to do in finding the heading of the plane?
If you could also add a diagram it would be great because this is probably a test question for Geometry. XD

Thanks

 

[Päällikkö]

Diagram (there's several ways to draw this (as we're dealing with vectors here), and mine is probably the worst :
http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0091he.jpg

I'm unsure where to place the angles, though.

Divide into x and y components.

 

[Fermat]

I get the same diagram, and angles the same.

 

[byronsakic]

alright thanks, the A to B part confused me, because i didnt know which part would be A and B lol..

 

[byronsakic]

bah i am actually now confused in why the 320 km/h or planes speed is the resultant vector. Wouldnt 320 km/h be the S 40 DEGREE W vector in the third quadrant?

is there anyone else who would think there would be an alternative way ? XD

my first approach would to think to use the parallelogram theory.

 

[Päällikkö]

If 320 km/h was the S 40 degree W vector, the wind would blow the airplane off-target. That is why the airplane must "overaim". I'm not sure what is meant by parallelogram theory, but you should divide the vectors into x and y components.

 

[byronsakic]

yes, so if i divided it into x and y components, i would be using cartesian vectors right? instead of geometric vectors