What does Triangle of Velocities cover?
The triangle of velocities relates the aircraft's heading and true airspeed, the wind, and the resulting track and groundspeed. It underpins a large share of General Navigation questions and the whole of practical dead reckoning.
What this subject covers
- Air vector, wind vector and ground vector
- Heading vs track; drift angle
- Wind correction angle and groundspeed
- Solving the triangle with the navigation computer
Study tip
Be ruthless about heading vs track and the sign of drift — most errors here are not maths errors but mixing up the two vectors.
Frequently asked questions
What does the triangle of velocities solve?
Given any four of heading, true airspeed, wind, track and groundspeed, it lets you find the others — essential for planning and in-flight navigation.
What is drift?
The angle between heading (where the nose points) and track (the path over the ground), caused by the wind.
