Lateral Thrust Lateral thrust is side Force exerted upon a structure or Antenna by the Wind. The figure at right shows wind hitting an antenna on top of a communications tower. Lateral thrust is dependent on the equivalent flat plate area (see Area - Circle, Area - Rectangle) of the antenna and upon the wind velocity. The greater the equivalent flat plate area or the greater the wind velocity, the greater the lateral thrust exerted on the structure. Generally, a wind velocity of 100 mph is taken as the reference. The formula for determining the lateral thrust is: F = kAV^2, where F is the force of lateral thrust in pounds per square foot, k is the wind correction factor, generally taken to be 0.004, A is the equivalent flat plate area, and V is the wind velocity in miles per hour. By substituting the reference wind velocity of 100 mph acting upon an area of 1 ft^2 into the formula, the lateral thrust is 0.004x1x100^2 = 40 lbs/ft^2. Thus, if a structure has an equivalent flat plate area of 2 ft^2, then the lateral thrust is 80 lbs.