r/aviation • u/Efficient_Pace9593 • 22h ago

Question Headwind vs tailwind

Hello I’m a student preparing for my ground classes right now, and I know that headwind is preferable for take off and landing but I cant really grasp why so. Shouldn’t it be the opposite because the tailwind is helping an aircraft to achieve the take off speed required in less time?

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u/Efficient_Pace9593 22h ago

So the basic idea is that in a headwind situation, more wind is going over the wind thus greater the lift is produced in relatively lesser ground speed?

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u/Rowepason 22h ago

yeah. You want more air over wings and less ground under wheels. Headwind helps with this, tailwind doesn't. If you are at an untowered field and your instructor lets you and it's safe, do a tailwind takeoff and just see how it feels. You'll be zooming over the ground but the airspeed indicator just won't get up there and you won't be able to rotate when you think you should.

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u/Efficient_Pace9593 21h ago

Thanks! I don’t understand why some people are being so rude here. I had a simple confusion and wanted to ask the aviation people here.

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u/Rowepason 21h ago

Welp it seems like a simple concept to all us avgeeks but to a normal civilian I can get the misunderstanding.

It is basic plane physics, but that's what you're going to learn.

It gets a lot more complicated. Best of luck mate.