Airspeed is defined as?

Airspeed is defined as?

• A. Is the speed of the aircraft in combination with the wind speed.
• B. The speed of the aircraft relative to the air.
• C. The wind speed acting on the aircraft.
• D. The speed of the aircraft over the terrain.

Answer: (A)

Airspeed is the speed of the aircraft relative to the air around it. The wind is moving air, so it changes how fast you go over the ground but doesn’t change the aircraft’s speed through the air itself. So airspeed isn’t a measure of ground distance or of wind speed itself. The instrument for airspeed shows how quickly you’re moving through the air, while your groundspeed—the speed over the terrain—depends on wind direction and speed. In calm air, airspeed and groundspeed are close; with wind, they can differ significantly, since wind adds or subtracts from the motion through the air to determine your ground track.

Airspeed is the speed of the aircraft relative to the air around it. The wind is moving air, so it changes how fast you go over the ground but doesn’t change the aircraft’s speed through the air itself. So airspeed isn’t a measure of ground distance or of wind speed itself. The instrument for airspeed shows how quickly you’re moving through the air, while your groundspeed—the speed over the terrain—depends on wind direction and speed. In calm air, airspeed and groundspeed are close; with wind, they can differ significantly, since wind adds or subtracts from the motion through the air to determine your ground track.