RayH
Banned
BillyP said:I agree there, it has nothing to do with it's ability to fly. The question is can it take off!. Ground speed definitely effects the ability to take off. That is until the wheels get off the ground. Then airspeed comes in.
Once you release the brakes on a plane, the wheels spin freely, (little to no friction). Ground speed has no effect on taking off, flying or landing until the brakes are applied. Take off and flght is strictly a function of airspeed over the lift surfaces. The prop produces airspeed by pulling the plane forward, it doesnt matter what the ground is doing, if the plane is moving forward through the air, its producing lift.
Think about this. When you take off, you need to reach a certain airspeed before you leave the ground, thats why there is no ground speed indicator, only an airspeed indicator. If you need 80 knots of airspeed to lift off and you are taking off into a 20 knot headwind, you still need 80 knots of airspeed but your ground spreed is only 60 knots. To the extreme, in a huricane (say 80 knot wind) you can actually takeoff standing still (0 groundspeed).