On Wednesday, March 14, 2012 10:44:06 AM UTC-7, Roel Baardman wrote:
I recall seeing an OSTIV paper, by someone from New-Zealand if I'm correct, where
the wind vector was derived from just the pitot and GPS. Using multiple pitot/GPS
combinations, the most likely wind direction was estimated.
The paper used data from the perlan project as an example. The more deviations in
course, the better the result was. Appeared quite promising to me.

Roel

Thanks for all the explanations and opinions. I understand that more complex math and data is required to calculate wind vectors precisely. However I am looking for a conclusion about the value of the simple math of TAS-GS, and why it is not suitable as a valuable information in a flight computer. I have been using this for years to determine if and by what magnitude the wind is helping my final glide and my arrival time, or working against me. No complex math, just common sense. Perhaps calling it head wind component is not accurate, so I am open for better definition. Regardless how we call it, I have no doubt it is very valuable, more accurate and more instantaneous then the often inaccurate calculated wind vector, and thus should be included in flight computers. I believe LK8000 calculates HW, I am curious to hear if it is derived from wind vector or TAS-GS.

Ramy