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.
• Set the force. Tap once and the band starts drawing back with the aeroplane riding out along it. Tap again to fix how far.
• Set the angle. The whole catapult then swings on its screw, band and aeroplane together. Tap a third time to let go.

Both of those tap against something already moving, and neither waits for you. Knowing the launch you want is only half of it. The other half is catching it, and that is the half you keep coming back for.

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, and not in the direction most people guess. A gentle headwind wants a steeper launch than still air, not a shallower one, because the wing is being handed lift it did not pay for in ground speed. That holds until about six metres per second, which is the highest you should ever aim. Past that it comes back down, and somewhere above eleven the answer flips outright: go low and flat, because by then every second aloft is a second of being pushed backwards. With the wind behind you, aim a shade flatter than usual and take the free distance.

Stuck? Read the Tailwind strategy guide →

Tips

• A gentle headwind wants a steeper aim than still air, not a flatter one. Around six metres per second is the steepest you should ever go.
• In a real gale, above about eleven, the answer flips completely: low and flat.
• If a launch tops out beautifully and then drops, you caught the band too late for that airframe. Same angle, less band.
• A tailwind is the easiest record you will get, but aim a little flatter than you would in still air, not steeper.
• 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, and it plays exactly as it does on a desktop: three taps anywhere on the playfield. One thumb, no dragging, and the buttons sit along the bottom where your hand already is.

I keep mistiming it. Everyone does at first, and the aeroplane still flies. A mistimed launch is short, not wasted. Aim to be a fraction early rather than late on the band: over-drawing strains the wing and spends the glide, and that costs more than falling a little short.

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. They do differ in how sharp you have to be: Lacerta gives you the widest margin on the aim, Sirocco and Zephyr the narrowest.

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.