Determining Wind Velocity From Light Plane Flight

AI Thread Summary
A light plane with an airspeed of 470 km/h must head 17.0° east of due north to reach a destination 800 km north in 2 hours. The discussion revolves around determining the wind velocity's magnitude and direction. A vector diagram is suggested to analyze the plane's velocity relative to the air and the ground. The components of the plane's velocity and wind velocity must be resolved to find their resultant. The problem emphasizes the importance of understanding vector addition in calculating wind velocity.
mikenash
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A light plane attains an airspeed of 470 km/h. The pilot sets out for a destination 800 km due north but discovers that the plane must be headed 17.0° east of due north to fly there directly. The plane arrives in 2.00 h. What were the (a) magnitude (in km/h) and (b) direction of the wind velocity? Give the direction as an angle relative to due west, where north of west is a positive angle, and south of west is a negative angle.

Pyj-800j=wj
Pxi=Wxi

attempt

tan inverse
(wx/WY)

then i got lost and do not know how to start the problem
 
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mikenash said:
A light plane attains an airspeed of 470 km/h. The pilot sets out for a destination 800 km due north but discovers that the plane must be headed 17.0° east of due north to fly there directly. The plane arrives in 2.00 h. What were the (a) magnitude (in km/h) and (b) direction of the wind velocity? Give the direction as an angle relative to due west, where north of west is a positive angle, and south of west is a negative angle.

Pyj-800j=wj
Pxi=Wxi

attempt

tan inverse
(wx/WY)

then i got lost and do not know how to start the problem

Draw a vector diagram. One vector \vec v_{pa} represents the velocity of the plane relative to the air. The other vector \vec v_{ag} represents the velocity of the air relative to the ground. What does the resultant vector (\vec v_{pa}+\vec v_{ag} = \vec v_{pg} represent? (Hint: I have given you a hint). Do we know the length of this vector? Do we know the length of \vec v_{pa}? Do we know its angle relative to \vec v_{pg}? Resolve the North and West components of \vec v_{pa}. What do these components plus the North and West components of \vec v_{ag} have to add up to?

AM
 
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