Helicopter Speed Relative to Ground: Solve w/ Vector Components

AI Thread Summary
To determine the helicopter's speed relative to the ground, the velocity of the helicopter relative to the air (55 m/s at W35°N) and the wind speed (21 m/s E) must be combined using vector components. The vertical component of the helicopter's speed remains unchanged, while the horizontal component is calculated by subtracting the wind speed from the helicopter's horizontal velocity. The initial attempt using vector components yielded an incorrect answer, but applying the cosine law resulted in the correct speed. The discussion indicates that the method using vector components was conceptually sound, suggesting the error may have been in calculations rather than the approach itself. Understanding vector addition is crucial for solving such problems accurately.
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Homework Statement


A helicopter's velocity relative to the air is 55m/s[W35^\circN]
The wind speed is 21 m/s[E].
I need to find the speed of the airplane relative to the ground.

Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution


I tried using vector components for this equation. Since the vertical component of the vector of the helicopters speed relative to the air is the same as the vector of the helicopters speed relative to the ground and the horizontal component should be the horizontal component of the helicopter's velocity relative to the air minus the wind speed.
I tried it this way and the answer is different from the one given by the textbook. I'm not very confident with vector components.

Edit: I did it using the cosine law and got the correct answer, but I would like to know if there was any faults with the way I tried to do it with vector components.
 
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There doesn't appear to be any faults with your description of using vectors. Perhaps you just made an error.
 
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