Windsock

Windsock

The cone is a windbreaker (colloquially a sorcerer, sock, pinocchio or sausage ) - a cone made of fabric, designed to indicate the direction and approximate wind speed. It is used mainly in aviation, as well as in chemical plants where there is a risk of gas leakage. Located on the airfield of the airfield , open areas, hills.

The meteorological direction of the wind corresponds to the direction opposite to that indicated by the windsock. The aeronautical direction of the wind corresponds to the direction indicated by the wind indicator. The size of the part of the wind indicator located horizontally is proportional to the speed of the wind: at low speed, part of the wind indicator “sags”; at high wind speeds, the entire wind indicator panel is horizontal.

The device and the placement of the windsock in Russia is regulated by GOST 25269-82 ^[1] .

By the standards of the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States (FAA), the design of the windsock provides for full disclosure, the horizontal position of the entire panel at a wind speed of 28 km / h (7.8 m / s; 15 knots; 17 mph). The wind direction indicator must indicate the actual direction at a minimum wind speed of 5.6 km / h (1.6 m / s; 3 knots; 3.5 miles per hour). To provide control over the speed and direction of the wind in the dark, the backlight of a wind indicator can be used.

A weather vane can also be used to measure the direction (sometimes speed) of the wind, and the wind speed can be an anemometer .