Wind at 10 knots No wind Heading = Track Final glide Crosswind from the right Heading is crabbed upwind of track Final glide Track Target Glider Airspeed – 60 Knots Wind – 10 Knots and 90° off the nose  Glider Ground Speed – 59 Knots Crab angle of about 9.5° Glider Airspeed – 60 Knots Wind – 10 Knots and 45° off the nose  Glider Ground Speed – 52 Knots Crab angle of about 6° Glider Airspeed – 60 Knots Wind – 10 Knots and 30° off the nose  Glider Ground Speed – 51 Knots Crab angle of about 4° Heading Heading Target Crab angle Track 34 34 34 W i n d W i n d Touchdown point Touchdown point Touchdown point Landing: 25-knot headwind Landing: no wind  Landing: 15-knot tailwind Figure 5-3.  Crosswind effect on final glide. Figure 5-4.  Wind effect on final approach and landing distance. for the conditions and land safely. The different groundspeeds  also result in different touchdown points unless the pilot takes  some kind of action. In any case, the pilot should aim for the  touchdown zone markers and not for the end of the runway.  [Figure 5-4] During landing in windy/gusty conditions, there is a tendency  to lose airspeed (flying speed) and increase sink. The friction  between the ground and the air mass reduces the wind  strength. The glider may be flying into a strong headwind at  one moment; a few seconds later, the windspeed diminishes  to nearly zero. The pilot landing into a headwind can usually  expect to lose some of that headwind while approaching the  surface due to surface friction slowing the wind. When the  change is abrupt, the pilot experiences a loss of airspeed  because it requires some small time and loss of altitude to  accelerate the inertia of the glider up to the airspeed previously  displayed when into the stronger headwind. This takes on the  appearance of having to dive at the ground to maintain flying  speed. Fly a faster approach to ensure staying above stalling  speed. Depending on the wind change, a longer ground roll  may be the result. If this occurs near the ground, the glider  loses speed, and there may be insufficient altitude to recover  the lost speed. This is called “wind gradient.” Consideration  5-4