Jerry Wilkins
New
United States
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About to fly my Mavic into a breeze yesterday, I recalled an algebra problem from 8th grade. Obviously it takes longer to fly with and against the wind, as compared to still air. What surprised me is the huge difference wind speed makes as it increases. As you can see, increasing wind from 5 to 10 mph increases the trip time from 12.8 to 20 minutes.
- Assume a straight path 2 miles long. There and back. No wind. 20mph. t=4/20. Or 12 minutes.
- 5 mph wind at my back. t1 = 2/25. Or 4.8 minutes.
t2 (the return trip) = 2/15. Or 4.8 minutes.
Total time = 12.8 minutes -- not too much more than the 12 minutes in still air.
- Now, the same trip, but with 10 mph wind. t1 = 2/30. Or 8 minutes.
t2 (again, the return trip) = 2/10. Or 12 minutes.
Total trip time with 10 mph wind = 20 minutes! A huge difference from 12.8 minutes with 5 mph wind.
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