Pilots must take into account the wind. Strong wind can manifest in the form of turbulence, which can result in a bumpy or even dangerous flight experience for passengers. There’s also the potential for wind drift. What is wind drift exactly, and how does it affect airplanes?
What Is Wind Drift?
Wind drift is a flight phenomenon in which an airplane moves or “drifts” sideways due to wind. Wind, of course, can blow in all directions. When it blows laterally against an airplane, it will cause the airplane to drift. Known as wind drift, it’s an important concept that can affect many different aspects of flight.
What Causes Wind Drift?
Wind drift is a naturally occurring phenomenon that’s caused by wind blowing sideways into an airplane’s flight path. Airplanes have a predetermined flight path, which is typically planned by pilots prior to takeoff.
When wind blows sideway or perpendicular into an airplane’s flight path, the airplane will drift in that same direction, resulting in wind drift. The difference between the direction in which the airplane’s nose is pointing and the airplane’s actual path is called the “drift angle.”
How Wind Drift Affects Airplanes
You might be wondering how wind drift affects airplanes. For starters, it can make airplanes veer off course. The sideways-moving wind can essentially push airplanes off their intended flight path. Even minor deviations in an airplane’s flight path can have a major impact on its destination, especially over long distances. These deviations can result in flight delays while also confusing navigation systems.
Airplanes may consume more fuel due to wind drift. Pilots can always make corrections to get the airplane back on the intended route. These corrections, however, will consume fuel. And the more adjustments or corrections pilots make, the greater the fuel consumption.
Wind drift can also make takeoffs and landings more challenging. As the wind blows sideways, it can push the airplane so that it’s no longer aligned with the runway. Pilots will have to constantly adjust the airplane during takeoffs and landings to accommodate for these deviations.
Wind Drift vs Crosswind
Wind drift and crosswind aren’t the same. They both involve sideways-moving wind. Wind drift, though, specifically refers to the deviation of an airplane’s trajectory caused by sideway-moving wind. Crosswind, on the other hand, refers to the wind itself blowing sideways. Wind drift is essentially the result of crosswind.
