Given a true course of 286 degrees and a true heading of 281 degrees, what is the wind direction and speed?

To determine the wind direction and speed based on the given true course and true heading, it's essential to understand the relationship between these values.

The true course is the direction the aircraft needs to fly to reach its destination over the ground. The true heading is the direction in which the aircraft is pointed, which can be affected by wind. If the true heading is different from the true course, it indicates that wind is pushing the aircraft off its intended path.

In this scenario, the true course is 286 degrees, and the true heading is 281 degrees. The aircraft is pointed slightly to the left of its intended course, suggesting that there is a crosswind coming from the left side of the flight path. By subtracting the true heading from the true course, we can gauge the angle of drift caused by the wind.

The difference between these two values is 5 degrees. Since the true heading is less than the true course, this means that the wind is coming from the left and slightly behind the aircraft, indicating the wind direction is approximately 246 degrees (which is relative to the heading).

Now, to find the wind speed, additional information would usually be required, such as groundspeed or other factors, but in a typical scenario, the wind