Planning a flight

Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuse meeeee.


On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 19:57:05 -0000, "Chris"
wrote:

Can you guys continue this discussion in another thread and leave this one
to deal with the original post.

Chris
wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 18:23:35 GMT, Jose
wrote:


Yes. I was addressing flight planning, and your contention that the
area of no (good) options is independent of winds. I claim that the
area location =is= dependent on winds, and the area's size in minutes is
also dependent on winds. The first is useful for flight planning (draw
a line on the chart) and the second is useful for a go/no-go decision.
One might be comfortable with a fifteen minute no-option time, but not
with a forty-five minute no-option time


The area in square miles that is available to you to glide to at any
given moment is independent of winds. It is an inverted cone around
your aircraft. The geographic center of this cone will be downwind of
the aircraft, but its area does not change. You can glide to the edge
of that cone, period. You can get farther in one direction (downwind)
than another, but that's merely a tradeoff, and you might not
necessarily strive for the furthest possible point (especially if it's
under water.)

The cone will move faster,as the aircraft moves faster over the
ground, so the cone will be completely surrounded by water (the "no
good option" time) for a shorter period, the greater the
groundspeed..

I don't know what you mean when you say the "area's size in minutes
is dependent on winds". One can only alter the distance one can
glide by using winds, by gliding in one direction or another. One
cannot alter the size of the area. What one gains in one direction,
he gives up in the other.