Originally Posted by
midlevels
It has lift because of the headwinds. If the headwinds suddenly die down, thus killing the lift, combined with the little forward momentum, what happens?
What happens when you're walking along one of the moving walkways at HKG and suddenly it stops? You'd still move forward, albeit at a somewhat slower pace.
The pilots would simply have to lower the angle of attack, and combined with the high climb power setting already in place, the plane will regain its airpseed and continue the climb as normal. The plane would have less climb performance (i.e. feet per minute) but would increase its groundspeed. Remember that planes are not really moving across the ground, they are moving inside a parcel of air. During a climb into a strong headwind, the groundspeed may be low but the airspeed will still be normal. Flying in high, gusty winds at low airspeeds (i.e. takeoff and landing) does pose risks and challenges though.
(I used to be a charter pilot)