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4 Answers

Finding track and groundspeed

Asked by: 8101 views , , ,
General Aviation, Private Pilot, Student Pilot

You are steering 050 degrees magnetic with a TAS of 120kt. The current wind velocity is 115degrees magnetic/40 kt. What is your track and groundspeed?

I cannot get the correct answer of: TR 030degrees and GS 108kt
The method on a jeppesen flight computer would be much appreciated.

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4 Answers



  1. Wes Beard on Dec 22, 2013

    You can’t get the correct answer because that answer is not correct. The wind will always pull the heading towards itself. In this case, the wind is from the right (or a bigger number) therefore the new corrected heading has to be to the right or a bigger number.

    WIth the data you provided above I get a corrected heading of 068° and GS of 97 kts.

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  2. Best Answer


    John D Collins on Dec 22, 2013

    Wes, I think you answered a different question than the one that was asked. You answered the normal question, what is the wind corrected heading and GS if the course and wind were as specified. As I read the question, the heading and TAS are fixed as are the winds, and the question is what is the resultant track and GS. Using the E6B calculator, fourth set of inputs at http://www.csgnetwork.com/e6bcalc.html , the answer I get is course = 31 degrees, GS = 109 Kts, which is close enough for government work to the OP answer.

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  3. Mark Kolber on Dec 22, 2013

    Yep. The question is the reverse of the usual wind triangle question and I get the same answer as John.

    aussie, did you end up doing the same thing? In the usual question (and cross country planning exercise) you are given TAS, true wind and course and asked to calculate GS and magnetic heading.

    Here, you were given magnetic heading, magnetic wind and TAS and asked to calculate the resulting GS and course.

    Your Jepp computer manual should give examples of the different variations on the basic calculation.

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  4. aussiepilot95 on Dec 22, 2013

    Hi
    Thank you all for your help. As John said I was doing the wrong calculation. My Jeppesen flight computer manual didn’t have a method for track and groundspeed but only for true heading and groundspeed. As I looked back in my navigation theory there is the solution and I found the same answer as John and Mark.
    Thanks and standby for more beginner questions…. 😉

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