Bay VI
The Windsock
Free-swivel cone · full at 15 knots
Wind tells first
A truncated fabric cone on a free swivel — it points where the wind is going and stands up harder the faster it blows.
Spooling up…
- 1Free swivel at the throat
- 2Taper reads wind speed
Data plate
- Reads
- Direction + speed
- Full extension
- ~15 knots
- Threshold
- Stirs by ~3 knots
- Tail points
- Downwind
Pilot’s notes
A standard sock lifts to horizontal at about fifteen knots and hangs limp below three, so the angle of droop reads speed while the tail reads direction — and the tail points downwind, toward where the air is going. Read it before every takeoff and landing: it is the truth on the field itself, not the smoothed average an automated station recorded a mile upwind.
Airmanship · watch for
Gust versus mean
The fabric dances with the gusts an automated report smooths away — on a blustery day, believe the sock over the recording.
Take it further
Read the deeper logbook guides, compare vetted gear, or carry it as original merch in the shop.