A jet aircraft can average 160 miles per hour in calm air. On a trip, the aircraft traveled 600 miles with a tailwind and returned the 600 miles against a headwind of the same speed. If the total round trip took 8 hours, what was the speed of the wind?
Let the time it took it to fly with the wind =T
Let the time it took to fly against the wind =8 - T
[600/T + 600/(8 - T)] / 2 = 160, solve for T
T = 3 hours - spent flying with the wind
600 / 3 = 200 mph - its speed with the wind.
600/(8-3)=120 mph - its speed against the wind.
[200 - 120] / 2 = 40 mph - the speed of the wind.
