Tailwind: the catapult distance game
A rubber band, a forked post, and an aeroplane sitting in the sling. Draw it back, let go, and watch. It climbs, runs out of the speed the catapult gave it, settles into a glide, and finally touches down and rolls to a stop in the grass. Then you read the number and go again.
That is the whole game. What makes it worth repeating is that the two things you control pull against each other, and the right answer moves.
How to play
- Pick an aircraft. Six of them, each with weight, lift, drag and strength shown on its card. They are not ranked — every one will fly about as far as the others. They simply do not fly the same way.
- Read the wind. The dial at the top left shows which way the air is moving and how hard. It is rolled fresh for every attempt, and it decides how high you should aim.
- Draw the band back and let go. Drag away from the aeroplane: the direction you drag sets the launch angle, and how far you drag sets the draw.
Your best is kept for each aircraft separately, so all six have their own record to chase. There is no timer, nothing to lose and nothing to unlock.
Why it is not just pulling as hard as you can
Every aircraft has a draw it cannot take. Reaching launch speed over a short stroke is an acceleration, and an acceleration is a load — tens of g at a full draw. Past what an airframe stands, the wing strains, loses lift and gains drag, and the glide you chose it for is spent. So the best draw runs from about half on the lightest aircraft to nearly full on the strongest, and finding it is most of what the pick screen is for.
Straight up is not the answer either. Height is worth a great deal, because a glider turns every metre of it into several metres of distance. But an aeroplane thrown at the sky arrives at the top with no flying speed left, hangs there, and comes down near where it left. Somewhere in between is a best angle — and it sits higher than most people expect.
The wind moves that angle. In still air you want to aim high and let the glide do the work. Into a stiff breeze the whole calculation changes, because time in the air is time being pushed backwards, and the aim comes right down. Ignore the dial and repeat one good launch, and you give away a third of the distance on the windiest days.
Stuck? Read the Tailwind strategy guide
Tips
- Aim high when it is calm, and low into a headwind. The dial is telling you which day it is.
- If a launch tops out beautifully and then drops, you drew too hard for that airframe. Same angle, less band.
- A tailwind is a free record. Take the steepest launch you can when the air is behind you.
- The heavy aircraft come into their own in a gale — they push through air that stops the light ones.
- Watch the roll-out. Distance is counted where it stops, not where it lands, and a gentle arrival rolls a long way.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tailwind free? Yes, completely free, with no account and no download, in any modern browser on phone, tablet or desktop.
Does it work on mobile? Yes. You draw the band with your thumb, and every control sits along the bottom of the screen where your hand already is.
Which aircraft is best? None of them. All six reach within a few per cent of the same distance when flown properly, and each is fastest in different weather — the light ones in still air, the heavy ones in a strong headwind.
Why did my aeroplane stall? You aimed too steeply for the speed you gave it. It ran out of flying speed at the top, dropped, and had to pick up speed again before the wing would work.
Is there an end? No. It is a distance game — there is only your own best, one for each aircraft.
Like a game you can keep having one more go at? Try Zood, Orbit or Tessera, or browse all Zamborin games.