Vector Project

Ben Spector, 6th period

You (and possibly a friend) have commandeered an aircraft of your choice and are
planning a vacation. The only decisions left are what aircraft you will be taking and what airport
you will be departing from and arriving to. But, heres the catch, YOU are the PILOT!
In preparation for your flight, you are ultimately responsible for the safety of your friend
and any companions that come along. Safe flight procedures include, but are not limited to:
choosing appropriate runways based upon wind conditions, determining whether or not it is safe
to land based upon wind conditions, and selecting an appropriate bearing for approach/landing
based upon wind conditions.
Projects should be submitted electronically and shared with me. Projects will be graded
according to the attached rubric.

* PARTNERS - If you choose to work with a partner within the same class, you are responsible
for calculating the bearing and magnitude of the approach/landing airport for 4 airports on
your trip.

Project requirements:
1.

Choose an aircraft you will need to know the maximum crosswind that the aircraft can
safely sustain & the recommended speed for approach/landing

2.

Choose a departure & arrival airport you will need to know the wind speed and direction
at each location
a.

Select the appropriate runway for landing based upon the wind conditions &
runway length

b.

Determine whether or not it is safe for your aircraft to land

i.

If it is not safe to land, explain why

ii.

If it is safe to land, calculate the bearing you should take on

approach/landing to ensure a safe touchdown

3.

Reflection in at least two paragraphs (two paragraphs each if working with a partner),
discuss the significance of vectors/bearings. Your reflection should demonstrate a
THOROUGH understanding of the vectors/bearings.

Individual Project: Points are earned according to the following guidelines:

Aircraft (8 pts)
____ Picture of aircraft chosen provided (2 pts)
____ Maximum crosswind (3 pts)
____ Approach/landing speed (3 pts)

Approach to Destination (19 pts)

Wind (10 pts)
_____ Wind speed & direction (3 pts)
_____ Crosswind component calculated (4 pts)
_____ Appropriate runway chosen (3 pt)
Landing (9 pts)
_____ Runway length/aircraft needed length considered (2 pts)
_____ Safe/not safe to land (3 pts)
_____ If safe, bearing is chosen (4 pts)

Approach returning Home (19 pts)

Wind (10 pts)

_____ Wind speed & direction (3 pts)

_____ Crosswind component calculated (4 pts)
_____ Appropriate runway chosen (3 pt)
Landing (9 pts)
_____ Runway length/aircraft needed length considered (2 pts)
_____ Safe/not safe to land (3 pts)
_____ If safe, bearing is chosen (4 pts)

Reflection (16 points)

_____ Reflection score (multiply value below by 4)
Graded according to the Keystone Exam Open-Ended Rubric:
4 pts Demonstrates a thorough understanding of mathematical
procedures & concepts
3 pts Demonstrates a general understanding of mathematical
procedures & concepts
2 pts Demonstrates a partial understanding of mathematical
procedures & concepts
1 pt Demonstrates a minimal understanding of mathematical
procedures & concepts

TOTAL: _____ out of 62 points

*If not submitted on the due date, 6 points will be deducted for each day late.

Group Project: Points are earned according to the following guidelines:

Aircraft (8 pts)
____ Picture of aircraft chosen provided (2 pts)
____ Maximum crosswind (3 pts)
____ Approach/landing speed (3 pts)

Approach to Airports (76 pts)

Wind (10 pts)
_____ _____ _____ _____ Wind speed & direction (3 pts)
_____ _____ _____ _____ Crosswind component calculated (4 pts)
_____ _____ _____ _____ Appropriate runway chosen (3 pt)
Landing (9 pts)
_____ _____ _____ _____ Runway length/aircraft req. length considered (2
pts)
_____ _____ _____ _____ Safe/not safe to land (3 pts)
_____ _____ _____ _____ If safe, bearing is chosen (4 pts)

Reflection (16 points)

_____ Reflection score (multiply value below by 4)
Graded according to the Keystone Exam Open-Ended Rubric:
4 pts Demonstrates a thorough understanding of mathematical
procedures & concepts
3 pts Demonstrates a general understanding of mathematical
procedures & concepts

2 pts Demonstrates a partial understanding of mathematical

procedures & concepts
1 pt Demonstrates a minimal understanding of mathematical
procedures & concepts

TOTAL: _____ out of 100 points

SCALED TOTAL: ____ out of 62 points

*If not submitted on the due date, 6 points will be deducted for each day late.

Ben Spector 6th period

Aircraft: Cessna 172N Skyhawk

Maximum crosswind: 17 mph

Approach/landing speed: 75 mph
Required runway length: 1250 feet

First Landing (original destination): KFDW Airport

Wind speed and direction: 10 mph from the west
There are 3 runways at KFDW: 17/35 (180o/0o), 18/36 (180o/0o) and 13/31 (139o/319o).
With the wind coming from the west, the plane should approach as much from the east as it
can. The plane should take the 319o runway (runway 31) to minimize the landing speed,
since this runway heads more from east to west, or against the wind. This approach also

minimizes the crosswind, which would be greatest for an approach going due north or due
south.
The crosswind component is the component of the wind that is perpendicular to the runway.
For a wind vector of 10 mph at a 90o heading (due east) and a runway heading of 319o (49
degrees above the x-axis), the crosswind component would be 10 sin49 =7.5 mph.

Landing:
The required runway length for a Cessna 172 is 1250 feet. The runway length is 9000 feet.
This is a safe runway length.
It is safe for this plane to land, since the runway is long enough and the crosswind
component (7.5 mph) does not exceed 17 mph.
The plane will need to approach the airport traveling north northeast at 43.7 o above the
horizontal axis, or a heading of 313.7o.

The resultant vector is the landing vector, with a magnitude of 75 and a bearing of 319 o.
This vector is 49o above the x axis. The component vectors are the planes flight vector plus
the wind vector. The wind vectors bearing of 90o is 0o above the x axis and its magnitude is
-10 since it is headed away.
(airspeed cos theta, airspeed sin theta) + (-10 cos 0, -10 sin 0) = (75 cos 49, 75 sin 49).
(airspeed cos theta, airspeed sin theta) = (75 cos 49, 75 sin 49) (-10, 0)
= (49.2, 56.6) + (10, 0)
= (59.2, 56.6)
The magnitude of the flight vector (airspeed) is the square root of 59.2 squared + 56.6
squared, which equals 81.9 mph.
The heading of the flight vector is calculated from above:

(81.9 cos theta, 81.9 sin theta) = (59.2, 56.6)

Solving for theta: cos theta = 59.2/81.9
theta = 43.7o above the x-axis, or a heading of 313.7 o

Second Landing (returning home): T41 LaPorte Municipal Airport

Wind speed and direction: 15 mph from the north
There are 2 runways: 12/30 (126o/306o) and 5/23 (51o/231o).
With the wind coming from the north, the plane should approach as much from the south as
it can. The plane should take the 306o runway (runway 30) to minimize the landing
speed, since this runway heads more from south to north, or against the wind. This
approach also minimizes the crosswind, which would be greatest for an approach going
more east-west (runways 5 and 23).
The crosswind component is the component of the wind that is perpendicular to the runway.
For a wind vector of 15 mph at a 0o heading (due south) and a runway bearing of 306o (36
degrees above the x-axis), the crosswind component would be 15 sin 36 =8.8 mph.

Landing:
The required runway length for a Cessna 172 is 1250 feet. The runway length is 4165 feet.
This is a safe runway length.
It is safe for this plane to land, since the runway is long enough and the crosswind
component (8.8 mph) does not exceed 17 mph.

The plane will need to approach the airport traveling north northeast at 74.61 o above the
horizontal axis, or a heading of 311.7o.

The resultant vector is the landing vector, with a magnitude of 75 and a bearing of 306 o.
This vector is 36o above the x axis. The component vectors are the planes flight vector plus
the wind vector. The wind vectors heading of 0o is 90o above the x axis and its magnitude is
-15 since it is headed away.
(airspeed cos theta, airspeed sin theta) + (-10 cos 90, -10 sin 90) = (75 cos 36, 75 sin 36).
(airspeed cos theta, airspeed sin theta) = (75 cos 36, 75 sin 36) (0, -10)
= (60.7, 44.1 ) + (0,10)
= (60.7, 54.1)
The magnitude of the flight vector (airspeed) is the square root of 60.7 squared + 54.1
squared, which equals 81.3 mph.
The heading of the flight vector is:
(81.3 cos theta, 81.3 sin theta) = (60.7, 54.1)
Solving for theta: cos theta = 60.7/81.3
theta = 41.7o above the x-axis, or a heading of 311.7 o

Vectors and bearings are very important to determine the way objects move in 2dimensional space. Without vectors and headings, air travel would be impossible! For
airplanes, vectors and bearings help determine whether a specific plane can land safely on
a certain runway. The plane must be flying at a certain air speed and heading (flight vector)
to land at a certain speed on the runway (resultant or landing vector), taking into account
the other component vector (wind vector). The resultant or landing vector is the sum of the 2
component vectors (flight vector and wind vector). The wind vector is very important, since a

plane can deal with only a certain amount of crosswind. Vectors are needed to calculate
the crosswind that a plane will face when landing on a certain runway. The crosswind is the
component vector of the wind that is perpendicular to the runway. The formula for the
crosswind component is the wind speed x the sin of the angle between the wind heading
and the runway heading.
If the crosswind component is less than the maximum crosswind for the airplane,
then it is safe to land and the pilot just has to figure out the right heading to land on the
runway. The flight vector can be calculated as the difference between the resultant (landing)
vector and the wind vector. Each of the vectors has 2 components (speed x cos angle,
speed x sin angle). To subtract vectors, you just have to subtract the components of the 2
vectors. The magnitude of the vector is the square root of the sum of the squares of the
vectors components. The heading can be calculated once the flight vectors components
are known, since the angle relative to the horizontal is (cos -1 of the horizontal component) /
airspeed of the plane. To convert the calculated angle to a heading, you have to figure out
how many degrees that angle is from due north, going clockwise.