RE: physics of the downwind turn
Dick is absolutely right on this one. If you have ever been on one of the moving sidewalks common at many airports, it is obvious that turning around and walking the other direction causes no acceleration force on your body, but the visual sensation is impressive. The airplane is moving relative to the air mass through which it is traveling. All accelerations are related to that mass, and the appearance of motion relative to another reference (such as the earth) is irrelevant.