Definition
A wind that strikes the airplane from behind and at an angle, rather than directly from the tail or directly from the side. It blows from one of the rear quadrants — roughly between the tail and a wingtip — so it has both a tailwind component and a crosswind component.
Plain English
A wind coming from behind the airplane but off to one side, not straight from the back.
Context Anchor
Seen during taxiing when deciding how to position the flight controls for wind coming from behind and to the side.
Derivation
‘Quartering’ comes from dividing the area around the airplane into four quarters (front-left, front-right, rear-left, rear-right). A wind from one of these diagonal directions is said to come from a ‘quarter’ rather than from directly ahead, behind, or to the side.
Why Pilots Care
It can cause the aircraft to weathervane and lift a wing during taxi or takeoff roll, requiring specific aileron and rudder corrections to maintain control.
Grounding Statement
Picture the wind hitting the airplane from behind and off to one side, not straight from the rear.
Intuition Check
“Quartering” does not mean the wind is split into four parts. Here it means the wind is coming from an angled rear direction, like from one back corner of the airplane.
Example Sentence 1
With a quartering tailwind from the left rear, the pilot held the control wheel forward and to the right while taxiing.
Example Sentence 2
Before takeoff, the instructor reminded the student to watch for a quartering tailwind that could raise the upwind wing.