FSX windspeed

Well it's because your airspeed indicator works via relative wind. So if you're standing still and the relative wind is still 40 kts. then your indicator will read 40 kts. So your airpseed indicator is actually showing you the correct airspeed - it doesn't know that you aren't moving over the ground. Your airspeed indicator works via the pitot tube (no not pilot tube - pitot tube pronounced pee-toe) which basically measures the air being blown through it and giving you your indicated airspeed. In real life you would have to face into the wind to see this. It clears up at altitude because your wind is probably different than the severe wind you configured at the surface. So just remember there is indicated airspeed which is based on relative wind and is measured with your airspeed indicator and ground speed (a.k.a. true airspeed) which can be measured with your gps, or vor dme. (Note: you can actually use your airspeed ind and some equations to get groundspeed as well if you really wanted to.)

Note note: There are a few other airspeeds as well but indicated and true are the ones you should know.

Thanks for the feedback.

If in the settings options i switch the indicated airspeed to ground speed-will this solve the isssue/ any additional benefit i'll get using ground speed?

Cheers

I wouldn't do it because your plane's performance is based on airspeed. Things like take off speed (rotation speed) stall speed, max speed flaps extended, maximum speed etc., landing speed (vref) Therefore if your airspeed indicator is always reading ground speed you could stall on approach or exceed maximum speeds - something like that. Real pilots use their airspeed and keep in mind the wind strength and direction if they want to figure out what type of headwind, crosswind, tailwind they have. Also in real life you are not supposed to exceed 250kts below 10,000 ft. but that is also indicated airspeed. Therefore if you never know your relative wind speed (indicated airpseed) you are missing out on a lot of important data regarding the plane's performance.

This is correct...

Airspeed is the value that you want to know for your planes critical data... for instance, you are coming in on approach, you are 5mi away from the airport and you hear the controller say that 5-10kt loss at 3500ft, 10-15kt loss at 2000ft, and 15-30kt loss at 1000ft and below. (KONT literally gets these types of figures), this means that if your landing speed is calculated at 150kts based on payload, passangers, fuel, and barometer, and you are being reported at a possible wind-shear of 15-30kts just before you reach the threshold, you want your landing speed to reflect this possible loss, meaning if you were to have your speed sheered, you want to still be above your stall speed.... so 180kts would be your landing speed.

Remember, where as the plane is making tons of thrust (literally), it is still just a tiny object in the air compared to mother nature... wind sheer has taken many planes down... here are two in particular that stand out, where wind-sheer caused a tragedy.

Delta Flight 191, crash at 1000ft, only a few hundred yards off the end of the field. She stalled due to wind-sheer and microburst. The plane first impacted in a field, bounced into the air, then came back down and crossed a highway, crushing a car... it then broke through the fence at the end of the field, and crashed into two 1 million gallon water tanks. The tail section of the plane had broken away before the plane hit the tanks, about 20 people survived this crash, all were seated in the tail section. Click here for a CGI rendering of what went wrong

United Airlines Flight 585, again, heavy winds and a fluke gust, brought this plane down, while on approach, click here

So do you see the importance of always knowing your airspeed? Afterall, it is this value that keeps the plane in the air.