Originally Posted by
2StgTurbine
I think this is a valid discussion that has practical use. By studying and understanding the math, you learn what variables to pay attention to and how much those variables will affect your results.
You are right, in the real world you will be ball parking it, but if you did a lot of practice calculations on the ground beforehand, your ball park will be a lot smaller.
I'm not sure how much you can limit the ball park. Yes, at a given IAS, you will have a lower ground speed (which means you will cover less ground/minute) with a headwind than with a tailwind.
So take a typical piston single with a glide ratio of about 1.7 miles/1000', aside from the realization (as in ryan's example) that the landing site you can get blown to with a tailwind is "closer" than the one you get to by plowing through a headwind, how much of a practical advantage is an adjustment of your IAS really going to get you?