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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/pilot-headwind-groundspeed

Compared with still air, what does a headwind do to an airplane's groundspeed?

A headwind makes groundspeed slower.

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  1. Raises it
  2. Lowers it ✔
  3. Leaves it unchanged

Why: Airspeed measures movement through the air mass. A headwind moves that air mass against the airplane's progress, so groundspeed decreases.

Huh, didn't know that: A tailwind has the opposite effect and increases groundspeed.

The dad joke
A headwind is nature asking, 'Are we there yet?'
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References

Answer: Lowers it. Airspeed measures movement through the air mass. A headwind moves that air mass against the airplane's progress, so groundspeed decreases.

  1. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 16 www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/18_phak_ch16.pdf
    the aircraft would appear to fly faster with a tailwind or slower with a headwind
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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