Book 23, Question 139
How Can You Tell Which Way the Wind Is Blowing?
Wind can be hard to see. But you can still find its path. How can you tell which way it blows? Flags, ribbons, smoke, or tall grass lean to show the wind.
More fun facts
- Airports put up wind cones, wind socks or wind tees near runways to show which way the wind is blowing.
- The big end of a wind sock points into the wind, which is the direction the wind is coming from.
- The large cross bar end of a wind tee also points into the wind.
- At airports without a working control tower, a ring shaped marker called a segmented circle can show pilots the traffic pattern.
- Some airports have a tetrahedron, a large pointed shape that shows the direction for landing.
- Pilots are warned not to use a tetrahedron to judge wind direction.
- In very light or calm winds, a tetrahedron may not line up with the runway meant for calm winds.
Sources: faa.gov
Questions kids ask
Can a wind tee show the landing direction instead of the wind?
Yes. Where a wind sock is nearby, the wind tee may be turned by hand to line up with the runway in use.