Hi all wind lovers/wind haters,Apologies if a similar post can be found elsewhere but I searched for one to no avail.Today I was flying at FL380 in the default Learjet when I encountered the erratic and sudden, and in my case, fatal wind changes. Can this be solved in FSUPIC entirely and will it mean I WON'T face 'overspeed' and 'AIRCRAFT OVERSTRESSED!' warnings?Secondly, I notice a lot that wind socks appear to be defying physics, and on various Airbuses, the arrow appears to be pointing the right, (or wrong) way. I was always told that the wind always blows FROM the given direction, is this really so in FS9? Whenever I'm on the ground, I seem to get blown in the opposite direction to what I should be according to all the signs... :( Also, is the ground wind different to the airborne winds - to me, maybe it's just me - they seem to blow in exactly opposite directions...If you need more info' or clarification please don't hesitate to ask.Thanks for your help in advance. :(PS: Sorry for the severe grammatical errors in the subject title :(

Whenever I'm on the ground, I seem to get blown in the opposite direction to what I should be according to all the signs...

I've been wondering this for awhile myself. I'm using ASV with FS9 (not that it matters probably) and while on the ground (taxiing, takeoff) the aircraft is being blown in the opposite direction from where the wind is actually coming from. If I have a crosswind from the right I actually have to use left rudder to stay straight.Any ideas?

Hi Mike,A registered version of FSUIPC will allow you to smooth out these wind shifts, but to say every single time, no matter what, it will never happen again, is something that we can't say for sure. Software is not perfect and it doesn't always act or react the same way, every single time. If it stops 99% of these occurrences would that good enough?Raw wind data does give the from direction and the wind socks in FS do a pretty good job in depicting this. Panel gauges, it is hard to say without knowing the specific panel or plane.If you mean a plane on the ground while taking off, if you are getting a wind from 270 and need to take off from 36, the nose of that plane will be moved left, into that wind. Then wind is mostly pushing on the left side of the tail and this will move the nose to the left.Ground winds and aloft winds are usually different and can be in totally opposite directions. This is a normal situation and happens in real life as well.It looks like you are just beginning to get into all this, so after a while a weather program such as Active Sky might fit your needs or be something you might be interested in.Thanks,

Carob,You posted while I was responding and yes what you described is normal and accurate. Many think that the wind should push the nose of the plane, but it is the major surface of the tail that gets pushed the most by the wind, thus moving the nose into the wind. But if the wind is from the right it should be right rudder you apply to move the nose to the left.

A cross-wind will try to point the nose of the plane to where the wind is coming from- much like a weathervane on a barn roof. Consequently you need to use opposite rudder to make the plane go where you intend.Ex. A North wind blowing across Rwy 09 which is an east heading for your takeoff. This wind will push the tail of the plane to the right- it's the tail that the wind acts upon. The nose of the aircraft then tries to point up into the wind like the weathervane. To keep moving down the centreline on an east heading, you will need to use right rudder to keep the plane from swinging left into the wind.Confusing at first but second nature with experience. Alex Reid

Are we still talking about being on the ground here?What I'm saying is that while on the ground (taxiing or take off) and not using any rudder the aircraft will move toward the wind. The wind isn't just hitting the tail it's hitting the body too. By all rights things should act the same as being in a car driving down the road with a crosswind.However, if you are saying while on an East heading during final with a decent North wind you would have to apply right rudder, that doesn't make any sense. That's pushing the nose away from the wind. If you do that you'll end up landing on someones house.

JSkorna and january are correct about the effect of the wind on the a/c on the ground and their method of correcton is also correct. The "car" idea is wrong.db.

Are we still talking about being on the ground here?What I'm saying is that while on the ground (taxiing or take off) and not using any rudder the aircraft will move toward the wind. The wind isn't just hitting the tail it's hitting the body too. By all rights things should act the same as being in a car driving down the road with a crosswind.However, if you are saying while on an East heading during final with a decent North wind you would have to apply right rudder, that doesn't make any sense. That's pushing the nose away from the wind. If you do that you'll end up landing on someones house.

But a car doesn't have a great big flat vertical panel sticking into the air a long way behind the centre of gravity! When the wind hits the curved sides of the aircraft fuselage it gets diverted past with relatively little resistance, but the tail provides a great deal of resistance. Because it's positioned right at the back of the aircraft, and because there's no equivalent structure at the front of the aircraft, there's a significant turning force created which swings the nose into the direction of the wind.As dickbloom says, JSKorna and january are correct.

But are you talking about when on the ground or in the air? On the ground is one thing. In the air is completely different.

Cant believe some of the replies on here! guy's learn the basics JSKorna and january are correct..Rob

But are you talking about when on the ground or in the air? On the ground is one thing. In the air is completely different.

Does not matter, the guys explained it correcly.To clarify your FS problem, if you have a wind from the right, does the aircraft try to TURN to the RIGHT (into the wind) or LEFT ?And you correct that by pressing WHICH rudder pedal (not rudder position) to turn WHICH WAY?

If you are on final and the wind is from the right then you have to crab to the right. The nose of the plane is pointing toward the wind.Example... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosswind_landing

Crosswind forces differ depending on whether a plane is on the ground or in the air. On the ground an airplane resists sideways motion from a crosswind due to the contact of the tires on the ground. A strong crosswind,on the ground, will push on the vertical stabilizer causing the plane to turn into the wind. this is called weathervaning and is obvious if you have ever seen a plane or a boat moored on a lake in a strong breeze. They will turn into the wind. In this instance a crosswind from the right will push the tail to the left causing the airplanes nose to swing to the right and the pilot would step on the left rudder to counteract that force.In the air is a different matter. Do not think of a crosswind pushing on the side of the plane. Instead think of the plane moving through the air and the air is moving in a direction perpendicular to the planes direction of travel. Here a crosswind from the right will not affect the airplanes direction of travel, but will change it's line of course. The pilot will step on the right rudder to create a course correction, what is known as a wind correction angle.Hope this helps clear things up.Joe

But are you talking about when on the ground or in the air? On the ground is one thing. In the air is completely different.

Carob- on the ground- steer the nose away from the wind to keep the plane in a straight line. Most of the plane's surface area is behind the wheels, so the aircraft wants to turn up into the wind. Just like a weathervane always points into the wind.When airborne you get the same effect PLUS the plane is pushed sideways. So steer into the wind to maintain your course.And same when landing- steer into the wind to stay on the runway centreline. The plane will be on an angle to the runway centreline- referred to as "crabbing." But DO NOT touchdown when crabbed- instead at the last moment, kick the rudder away from the wind to straighten out, so the plane is headed straight down the runway as the rubber touches the concrete. Continue to apply rudder opposite to the wind direction until rollout is completed.In the real world, judging height above the runway requires good peripheral vision- the ability to see the runway flashing by, out of the corners of your eyes. In FS the view is very narrow- only 45

I'm aware of the procedures but was trying to clarify one of the earlier posts. My initial question was about being on the ground but people started talking about what to do in the air and it was getting confusing. That's why I asked the question "on the ground" multiple times because it wasn't making sense.Hopefully this will answer both questions for everyone.