Hello fellow simmers,A simple question that popped into my mind today was: if the wind is blowing from the left, in which way will it "turn" the aircraft, to the left or to the right? (In real world).Thanks!

On the ground, it will turn the plane into the wind, just like a weathervane. So in other words, if it is blowing from the left, it will turn the plane to the left. However in the air, the wind doesnt turn, but drifts. A wind from the left will cause the plane to drift to the right.

Don't forget the weathergauge!!

Great! Thanks for the answers.Now one little thing still I'd like to know... What is the reason that the aircraft on the ground is turning into the wind? Is it the size of the rudder that pushes the back of the aircraft in the direction of the wind, thus turning the aircraft into the wind?And in the air, I guess there is no gear friction, thus the whole aircraft is drifting?Just making sure I understand this right :)Thanks!

Not necessarily the "size" of the rudder, nor just the rudder itself. But rather the entire surface area presented to the wind behind the main gear is what turns the plane into the wind. The rudder, the vertical stabilaizer (fin), the side of the fuselage, etc. Once the main gear loses contact with the ground the airplane is suspended in the air. It then is no different than a fish in a fishbowl. If you pick that bowl up and move it across the room the fish goes with it because it is suspended in the water in the bowl. And notice that while you are moving it across the room the fish can swim in any direction it wants to. If the air is moving and a plane is suspended in the air it tends to move with it. The thrust of the propeller can overcome that tendency. But you do so by compensating for the movement of the air you are suspended in. You may have to fly sideways, or at some lesser angle to track the line over the ground that you wish to follow. So you can see that movement of the air is only a concern as it relates to your track over the ground, not through the air.If you ever take a ride in a hot air balloon one of the first things that may surprise you is that you can see yourself moving over the ground but you feel no wind blowing. That is because the balloon is suspended in the air and moving with it so there is no "apparent wind".Once a person realizes that when you are flying you are moving around in the air, a medium that itself is probably moving as well, it becomes easier to understand such things.Dewey

http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=179885&page=http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=179896&page=:)

Vilk, why are these two posts useful as an information to my question?

Dewey, thanks a lot for the helpful information. You really cleared it up for me!