What is relative wind?

What is relative wind?

• A. The airflow direction relative to the airplane, opposite to its flight path.
• B. The wind reported at the airfield.
• C. The airflow inside the engine intake.
• D. The wind created by the propeller.

Answer: (A)

Relative wind is the airflow that the airplane experiences as it moves through the air. It is the air coming from ahead and striking the aircraft, effectively opposite to the direction of the aircraft’s flight path. This is the wind that the wings and control surfaces “feel,” and it together with the aircraft’s speed defines the angle of attack and lift. It’s not the wind reported at the airfield, which is ground-based, nor the airflow inside the engine intake or the wind produced by the propeller. Those are different flows; relative wind is the airflow as seen from the moving airplane itself, coming from in front and opposite the travel direction.

Relative wind is the airflow that the airplane experiences as it moves through the air. It is the air coming from ahead and striking the aircraft, effectively opposite to the direction of the aircraft’s flight path. This is the wind that the wings and control surfaces “feel,” and it together with the aircraft’s speed defines the angle of attack and lift. It’s not the wind reported at the airfield, which is ground-based, nor the airflow inside the engine intake or the wind produced by the propeller. Those are different flows; relative wind is the airflow as seen from the moving airplane itself, coming from in front and opposite the travel direction.