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broken image fixed (click 'rendered output' or 'side-by-side' to see the difference; image retrieved via Wayback Machine); for more info, see https://gist.github.com/Glorfindel83/9d954d34385d2ac2597bbe864466259f

Here's a very simple graphic of what you could be seeing:

pic
(source: cadblog.net)

And this is why we land into a headwind rather than the tailwind, since otherwise we would land at a faster speed and require more runway to stop.

GPS measures ground speed, or absolute speed. The pitot tube on the aircraft will measure the speed relative to the airflow around the aircraft.

Here's som helpful graphic from NASA on relative velocity:

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/Animation/airrel/Images/relg.gif

Footnote: As Ratchet Freak demonstrates in his equation, you have to of course remember that this is simplifying it as flying straight into the wind and not taking account of the wind direction.

Thunderstrike
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