"Chris Wells" wrote in message
...

Suggest you take a look at this
site.www.aeroexperiments.org/brainteasers.shtml

This site, while useful for those having difficulty with the concept
of different frames of reference, is actually wrong. Downwind turns ARE
different, though perhaps only for ultralights and other light aircraft
in the real world.

Don't believe me? Try hang gliding. When you circle, you can usually
feel which way the wind is blowing. When I first discovered this, it
took me a while to figure out what was happening. I might have had
difficulty believing if someone else had told me this, but I couldn't
deny personal experience.

I'll see if anyone else knows, or can figure out, why this is true
before I explain further...




--
Chris Wells

It is your perception of travel across the ground that gives you that
feeling in a hang glider. Upwind you are practically stopped, and downwind
you are really moving. Never the less, you can still do turns without
changing attitude to adjust for any change in wind direction. Close your
eyes for a turn or two, and you'll never be able to tell the difference.

Al G