Originally Posted by
dirtybird
OK I have my flame suit on.
I have a question for those that say there is no loss of altitude when turning from upwind to downwind.
Where dos the energy come from to increase the momentum?
The increased energy comes from the moving air mass. This still has nothing to do with the aircraft flying through that same air mass loosing or gaining altitude in a turn. It only makes a difference when you hit the ground at full throttle. Your crash will be more impressive with the wind than against it due to the increased momentum :-)