What is airspeed?

Airspeed is how fast an airplane is moving through the air.

Imagine you're on a swing. When you swing forward, you feel the wind in your hair, that's like airspeed. The faster you go, the more wind you feel. An airplane works the same way: it moves through the air, and its speed is called airspeed.

Think of riding your bike on a calm day, easy! Now imagine you're biking into a strong headwind. Even if you're pedaling the same amount, it feels harder because you're moving through the air slower than you would on a calm day. That’s like how an airplane’s airspeed changes when there's wind.

If the wind is helping, like a tailwind, your bike moves faster through the air, even if you’re not pedaling harder. That means the airspeed feels higher, even though you're using less energy. An airplane can feel the same way: flying with the wind makes it go faster through the air, and that’s what we call airspeed.