37. If an aeroplane makes a round trip and a wind is blowing, is the trip time shorter, longer or the same?
Let's do a worked example. Lets say our plane has to travel 300 miles there and 300 miles back. It has a standard cruising speed of 600mph. In the case of no wind it will travel the 600 miles in 1 hour exactly. Simple enough.
Let us say that the wind speed is 100mph so the plane will be wind assisted to 700mph and slowed to 500mph
- Wind Assisted: 300 miles at 700mph takes 0.429 hours
- Wind Slowed: 300 miles at 500mph takes 0.6 hours
- Total Time: 1.029 hours
Because the journey against the wind is slower and lasts longer the plane is against the wind for longer. And the converse is true.
Read full article from Answer to Puzzle #37: An Aerople Takes a Roundtrip in the Wind
Let's do a worked example. Lets say our plane has to travel 300 miles there and 300 miles back. It has a standard cruising speed of 600mph. In the case of no wind it will travel the 600 miles in 1 hour exactly. Simple enough.
Let us say that the wind speed is 100mph so the plane will be wind assisted to 700mph and slowed to 500mph
- Wind Assisted: 300 miles at 700mph takes 0.429 hours
- Wind Slowed: 300 miles at 500mph takes 0.6 hours
- Total Time: 1.029 hours
Because the journey against the wind is slower and lasts longer the plane is against the wind for longer. And the converse is true.
Read full article from Answer to Puzzle #37: An Aerople Takes a Roundtrip in the Wind
