Strong high-altitude winds over the Mid-Atlantic sped up sky traffic on Saturday night, getting passengers on at least two commercial planes to their destinations early, after both aircraft hit supersonic speeds topping 800 mph.
Winds at cruising altitude peaked at about 265 mph, according to the Washington, D.C., area National Weather Service office — the second-highest wind speed logged in the region since recordings began in 1948. The highest-ever wind speed recorded in the area at a similar altitude was 267 mph on Dec. 6, 2002.
“For those flying eastbound in this jet, there will be quite a tail wind,” the NWS warned in a tweet.
Sure enough, that tailwind helped cut down the flight time for passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight from D.C. to London by 45 minutes, according to the tracker FlightAware.
They’re the new hovercraft
Alaskan bush planes need to be tied down lest a stiff breeze causes them to “liftoff”. I swear I saw a video of one being landed essentially vertically as it was flying into a strong wind.
I have a buddy that built a kit plane capable of crazy short takeoff runs, and yeah if there’s a good headwind it can pretty much hover in midair.
All my fixed wing friends get excited about hovering, or even flying backwards into particularly strong headwinds.
Look up STOL videos on the tubes and you’ll find a ton of planes landing in less than 10ft/3m
https://youtu.be/VQq2oYAwnqY