ORIGINAL: Rocketman_
polstery
Can you clarify your point about the 15 mph wind a little further?
If planes don't feel the wind wouldn't aircraft carriers be able to stand still and launch their jets?
Didn't the Wright brothers have some trouble flying without a head wind?
If the wind was blowing 100 mph and you were at full throttle just to maintain a ground speed of 0 mph wouldn't your ailerons know about that?
An aircraft flying in a steady state wind, not in contact with the ground (or the ship's deck in the case of the carrier) has no effect from wind except in its ground track. Aerodynamicly... it doesn't feel the wind.
Fly from the ground in a steady 40 mph wind... "WOW the wind's blowing the plane all over the place." Now same wind... same plane... you stand in a balloon gondola... the wind will seem to have NO EFFECT AT ALL! Its not the wind... its youre perception changing how you make the plane respond. Those circles that look constant radius to you on the gournd (if you are good enough to do that... Full scale, pilots of light planes have a hard time with "turns about a point" in a strong wind.), are a constantly changing radius aerodynamically.
The Aircraft carrier points into the wind for launch/recovery ops in order to reduce the ground speedrelative to the deck) required for take-off and landing. (also to eliminate cross-wind effects which would be a total pain when landing on the narrow "runway" hard enough to hit the "runway that moves in 4 directions" without the wind correction to ground track direction) Think of it as purposefuly spinning the earth in the best direction so that your runway lines up with the wind at your flying field. Now spin the earth a bit faster under tha atmosphere so you don't have as long a ground roll to gain flying speed.
The wright flyer required something like 25 mph airspeed to fly (when dry) the catapault could accelerate it to about 15 mph (maybe 18...) ground speed. if they didn't have a 10 mph (preferred 15...) wind... they couldn't get the required airspeed to fly. (the re-enactment, they had inadequate wind AND addded wieght from the plane being all wet. It didn't fly.)
A common kid's kite... flies nice if you have wind... no wind= no fly (unless you run a lot). Why? That string you hold is the motor. If the air is not moving in relation to the guy holding the string... the kite has no airspeed. More wind = more airspeed and more pull n that line (because the kite wants to go where the wind is going... the guy on the ground is exerting a force on the kite (acting as the motor)
**** that SHOULD make it clear... no ground contact... the airplane does not care if you have 0 wind, 5 mph or 50 mph wind IF the wind is constant. Gusts are a whole new story. (a longer one)