Answer :
Answer:
The subject of prevailing winds is crucial in airport design to align runways allowing aircraft to take off and land into the wind, providing increased lift and improved safety.
Explanation:
The role of prevailing winds is critical in the design of airports, specifically when aligning runways. Airports are designed so that aircraft take off and land into the wind whenever possible. This aerodynamic requirement is due to the fact that headwinds (winds blowing opposite to the direction of travel) increase aircraft lift and allow for safer and more efficient takeoffs and landings.
When the graduate student in Transportation Engineering, who studied airport design, was finally able to illustrate this concept, he drew a runway horizontally with an airplane ready for take-off at one end. He indicated the wind direction with an arrow pointing from right-to-left, which represents a headwind for the aircraft taking off in the same direction. This scenario is ideal since aircraft require less runway to lift off due to the increased lift generated by the headwind.
