Wind
The wind triangle and runway wind components.
The wind triangle in every direction, runway headwind and crosswind components, ranking runways for a wind, winds aloft between forecast levels, true course to compass heading, and the 1-in-60 rule for getting back on course. Pilots use these tools for cross-country planning and runway choice. Start with heading and groundspeed, the wind side of the E6B solved exactly. Work in one reference: forecast winds are true, runways and ATIS winds are magnetic, so convert before you compare.
Planning and education aid. Not for primary navigation. Full disclaimer
No tools here match . or .
I want to find the heading to fly and my groundspeed
- Wind triangle: heading and groundspeed
The heading to fly and the groundspeed you will get for a course, true airspeed, and wind: the E6B wind side, exact.
I want to work out the wind from heading, track, and speeds
- Wind triangle: find the wind
The wind aloft from your heading, true airspeed, track, and groundspeed.
I want to find the airspeed and heading for a groundspeed I need
- Wind triangle: airspeed and heading for a groundspeed
The true airspeed and heading that make good a course at the groundspeed you need, for a known wind.
I want to see where a heading and airspeed will take me
- Wind triangle: course and groundspeed from a heading
Where a heading and true airspeed will take you in a known wind: the course over the ground, the groundspeed, and the drift.
I want to find the headwind and crosswind on a runway
- Runway wind components
Crosswind and headwind or tailwind on a runway, with gusts, variable winds, and your personal limits.
I want to rank the runways for the wind
- Rank runways for the wind
Headwind and crosswind on every runway at an airport for one wind, ranked by headwind, with runways beyond your limits flagged.
I want to find the wind at my altitude between forecast levels
- Winds aloft between levels
The wind and temperature at your cruising altitude from the forecast levels above and below it, interpolated as a vector so a turning wind turns smoothly.
I want to turn a wind into u and v components, or back
- Wind components (u and v)
A wind's east-west (u) and north-south (v) components from its direction and speed, or the direction and speed from u and v, as weather models and forecasts give them.
I want to work out the compass heading from a true course
- True course to compass heading
From true course through the wind correction, variation, and your compass deviation card to the heading to fly on the compass, each step shown.
I want to get back on course with the 1-in-60 rule
- Off-course correction (1-in-60)
How far you have drifted off track, the turn to parallel your course, and the turn to reach your destination, exactly and by the 1-in-60 rule.
The wind triangle
- Your airplane moves through the air on its heading at true airspeed; the air moves over the ground with the wind. Adding the two gives your track and groundspeed. Wind triangle: heading and groundspeed
- In flight, a known heading, track, TAS, and groundspeed give the wind back. Wind triangle: find the wind
- At the runway, the same wind splits into a headwind and a crosswind component. Runway wind components
Guides that use these tools
- VFR preflight: From the latest METAR to pressure altitude, density altitude, and the crosswind on your runway.
- VFR cross-country: Distance and true course between two airports, the heading to fly into the wind, the magnetic heading, and the time en route.