If wind changes from headwind to tailwind on a constant glide slope with true airspeed constant, what is the expected change in airspeed and pitch attitude?

If wind changes from headwind to tailwind on a constant glide slope with true airspeed constant, what is the expected change in airspeed and pitch attitude?

• A. Airspeed and pitch attitude increase and there is a tendency to go above glide slope.
• B. Airspeed and pitch attitude decrease and there is a tendency to go below glide slope.
• C. Airspeed and pitch attitude remain the same.
• D. The airplane experiences no change in glide slope behavior.

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that wind affects your movement over the ground, not your motion through the air, when you keep the same true airspeed. If you hold a constant TAS and stay on the same glide slope through the air, the rate of descent relative to the air and the pitch needed to maintain that descent angle don’t change when the wind shifts from headwind to tailwind. The wind simply changes your ground speed and drift over the ground—but not the airplane’s airspeed or its attitude required to stay on the glide slope. So you’d maintain the same airspeed and the same pitch attitude; the only difference is how fast and where you track over the ground.

The key idea is that wind affects your movement over the ground, not your motion through the air, when you keep the same true airspeed. If you hold a constant TAS and stay on the same glide slope through the air, the rate of descent relative to the air and the pitch needed to maintain that descent angle don’t change when the wind shifts from headwind to tailwind. The wind simply changes your ground speed and drift over the ground—but not the airplane’s airspeed or its attitude required to stay on the glide slope. So you’d maintain the same airspeed and the same pitch attitude; the only difference is how fast and where you track over the ground.