Question

A helicopter is flying at an elevation of 450 feet. It is within sight of the landing pad and the pilot finds that the angle of depression to the landing pad is 16 degrees. Find the distance between a point on the ground directly below the helicopter and the landing pad. Round to the nearest foot. Note that for this problem, we are using degrees to measure angles.

Answer 1

Given:

Hel;icopter elevation from ground AB=450 feet

Depression to the landing is 16 degree

$\angle ACB=\angle DAC=16^{\circ}$

$\begin{gathered} \tan \theta=\frac{AB}{BC} \\ \tan 16^{\circ}=\frac{450}{BC} \\ BC=\frac{450}{0.2867} \\ BC=1569.58\text{ feet} \end{gathered}$

The distance between a point on the ground directly below the helicopter and the landing pad is 1569.58 feet