ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Air speed

Hey kiddo, do you like planes? Air speed is how fast a plane or any object is moving through the air.

Think about when you stick your hand out the window of a car and you feel the wind rushing past it. That's kind of like what air speed is.

But, it's not just how fast the wind is moving past your hand. It's also the speed at which the plane or object is moving forward compared to the air around it.

Let's say you're on a plane and it's flying at 500 miles per hour. However, if there is a strong headwind blowing towards the plane, it will make the air speed slower – maybe only 400 miles per hour – even though the plane is still moving forward at 500 miles per hour.

Air speed is important for pilots because they need to know how fast they're going to make sure they're flying at a safe speed and to estimate how long it will take to get to their destination.

So, air speed is all about how fast an object is moving through the air and how fast it's going compared to the air around it. Pretty cool, huh?