Finding Velocity and Direction in a Crosswind: Aircraft Navigation Problem

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves an aircraft navigating in a crosswind scenario, specifically needing to determine the correct heading and ground speed while flying due west against a southward wind. The aircraft's airspeed is given as 200 km/h, with the wind speed at 50 km/h.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the need for the aircraft to have a westward velocity component and a northern component to counteract the wind. There are attempts to set up equations involving trigonometric functions to find the angle and speed.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants expressing frustration over not arriving at the correct answer. Some have proposed specific angle and speed values, but there is no consensus on the correct solution yet.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the constraints of the problem as posed, with no additional information provided about potential assumptions or simplifications that could affect the calculations.

LastBloomingFlower
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Ok, here's the problem.. What am I doing wrong??

The pilot of an aircraft wishes to fly due west in a wind blwoing at 50 km/h toward the south. If the speed of the aircraft in the absence of wind is 200 km/h, in what durection should the aircraft head and what should its speed be relative to the ground?

I keep getting Velocity of 216 and 14.05 direction and its not right??!? HELP! :mad:
 
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To fly west, the plane must have a west component, and there must be a northern velocity component to offset the southbound wind.

Take the planes velocity magnitdue to be 200, which must be at some angle west of north (to offset the wind).

So 200*f(a) = 50, where f is some trig function and a is the angle.
 
I still can't get the right answer...
 
By any chance, is the answer 14.48 degree and 193.6km/h?
 

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