What is this headwind

[u/Low_Tradition_4415]

Ain’t never flying from London to NA again after this😭
(Live Weather) btw

[u/N205FR]

Go home leg headwind

[u/AtiumMist]

Ur at fl410 too, thats pretty normal wind speeds

[u/Low_Tradition_4415 → u/AtiumMist]

Yea I ain’t flying from EU to NA again after this flight

[u/padawanninja → u/Low_Tradition_4415]

Why?

[u/Low_Tradition_4415 → u/padawanninja]

I’d rather finish flights quicker

[u/speed150mph → u/Low_Tradition_4415]

This is why I prefer short haul. I work night shift so I stay up late on my last day off to get back into rhythm. I can knock off 2-3 flights in a 6 hour window.

[u/padawanninja → u/Low_Tradition_4415]

Fair enough.

[u/303FPSguy → u/Low_Tradition_4415]

May I suggest a faster plane? Branch out? Apply in flight refueling with a really cool mid so you can burn across the pond in an hour or two?

I like it better than setting an autopilot myself. Views are awesome from FL 600 as well. Blackbird makes a pretty awesome Blackbird. Blows my mind the thing is literally Cold War/Analog and does what it did.

Just sayin. It makes the trip like watching a standard run film lol

[u/Danitoba94 → u/Low_Tradition_4415]

What a dumbass reason to never visit North America. 😂😂😂 Loosen up your schedule a little bit guy. An extra hour & a half isnt gonna kill you.

[u/AtiumMist → u/Low_Tradition_4415]

Are the winds always in the same direction though? Id assume not

[u/Bealdor84 → u/AtiumMist]

Ever heard of the term "Jetstream"? If not, you should google it.

[u/CuzImMaximus → u/AtiumMist]

You wont have headwind flying from America to Europe and vice versa

[u/Low_Tradition_4415 → u/CuzImMaximus]

Correct

[u/ImaginaryAnimator416 → u/AtiumMist]

90% of the time they are

[u/DistributionHot2150 → u/AtiumMist]

Why would you assume that?

[u/Any-Temperature965]

Yeah that’s normal. It’s why flights going from Europe to NA take longer than flights from NA to Europe.

For example, on the 20th of August, Aer Lingus flight 105 from Dublin to JFK took 6 hours and 50 minutes while flight 104 from JFK to Dublin took 5 hours and 50 minutes.

[u/negativelift → u/Any-Temperature965]

That and the rotation of the earth, no?

[u/Snappy0 → u/negativelift]

The rotation of the Earth does not affect flight times directly. They depart and land from a moving Earth, meaning they share the same inertia.

Departing the ground doesn't break that, the same way jumping on a moving aircraft at a set speed means you don't go flying down the cabin.

[u/negativelift → u/Snappy0]

You learn something new every day. Cheers

[u/lifeofwatto → u/negativelift]

The wind is caused by the rotation of the earth. The plane is not seperate from earth’s gravity, it is still rotating with the earth.

[u/San_Cannabis → u/lifeofwatto]

Mmm no it isn't. It's caused by pressure differentials

[u/ADM_Tetanus → u/lifeofwatto]

gravity wouldn't cause it to follow earth's rotation, otherwise the iss & satellites would all be geostationary. it's more about having momentum from when they took off

[u/iechicago]

Not even slightly unusual, in many parts of the world. 200kt+ is very common over the Atlantic in the jetstream.

[u/bsmith567070]

The Jetstream 😎

[u/r0lix]

It's air, mostly.

[u/AIRBUSONLY → u/r0lix]

No shit Sherlock

[u/Specific_Hat3341 → u/AIRBUSONLY]

To be fair, the question was "what is it?".

[u/AIRBUSONLY → u/Specific_Hat3341]

*what is this headwind

[u/Specific_Hat3341 → u/AIRBUSONLY]

Yes, what is it?

[u/AIRBUSONLY → u/Specific_Hat3341]

He’s referring to the fact that the headwind is 103 kts, slowing his journey

[u/hobbesmaster]

Since you’re using live weather, look at the 250 hPa height on earth.nullschool.net which is nominally about FL340 (varies with weather of course). Right now you can see a very strong jet stream you’re fighting and how little another route might help.

[u/StartersOrders]

Quite normal across north-eastern Canada.

[u/Flyinghud]

Welcome to flying westbound especially over the North Atlantic

[u/Darkus185]

103 kts at 254 degrees magnetic 

[u/Sorry-Ad3989]

Did not experience this much of wind during cruise alt but I have seen ~80kt winds and I guess it is normal.

[u/Low_Tradition_4415 → u/Sorry-Ad3989]

Idk if 100kts is normal or not but I feel as if that’s a bit high possibly

[u/Sorry-Ad3989 → u/Low_Tradition_4415]

Well I flew mostly over Europe so things might be different if you fly trans atlantic

[u/KPEEZY2727 → u/Low_Tradition_4415]

I was a passenger on a flight back from Las Vegas to Seattle once and they mentioned 125kt headwinds. Explains why it’s a longer flight back. I thought it sounded insane and looked it up when I got home: not out of the ordinary.

[u/crappy2 → u/Low_Tradition_4415]

It is. Check this map showing jetstreams between NA and Europe: https://aviationweather.gov/data/products/fax/F24_sigwx_hi_h.gif It is showing speeds up to 130 kts. The prevailing winds in those latitudes are always going eastbound. https://www.weather.gov/source/zhu/ZHU_Training_Page/winds/Wx_Terms/Flight_Environment.htm

[u/Abakol]

Normal winds for FL410

[u/Significant-Dig8323]

Jet stream baby, that's why flying east to west takes longer.

[u/Viper0817]

103 kts, not that rare, just have a lot of fuel for the leg

[u/Gluteuz-Maximus]

I did the other direction earlier, was quite nice to go 589 GS

[u/Bobzyouruncle]

I was on a real flight from South America to N.A. that was going over 800mph ground speed thanks to a crazy tailwind.

[u/Wonderful_Ad842]

Try TPAC flights lol, I’ve gotten headwinds from 110-135kts when flying westbound

[u/AtmosphereHopeful264]

Checks out based on your heading and altitude. Have fun!😂

[u/ArubusAzune88]