Pilot calculators › Crosswind
Crosswind calculator
Enter the runway and the reported wind. You get the crosswind and the headwind or tailwind, with gusts, and a picture of how the wind hits the runway.
Calculator
Training aid only. Not for flight planning or operational use. Use official weather, your aircraft's POH or AFM, and approved flight-planning tools for real flights.
Enter values to see the result.
How it's calculated
The calculator takes the angle between the wind and the runway, then splits the wind into two parts:
- Crosswind = wind speed × sine(angle)
- Headwind = wind speed × cosine(angle). A negative headwind is a tailwind.
Runway 27 points to about 270°. Written wind such as 300 at 15 means the wind comes from 300° at 15 knots. That is 30° off the runway, so the crosswind is 7.5 knots from the right and the headwind about 13 knots.
Things students often miss
- True or magnetic. Runway numbers are magnetic. Tower and ATIS winds are magnetic too, but METAR and TAF winds are true. Correct for variation before you compare them.
- Use the gust. Many instructors teach planning with the gust value, since that's the crosswind you may meet in the flare.
- Demonstrated crosswind velocity in the POH is the value shown during the airplane's certification testing. Whether it is a limitation depends on the AFM, and your school or operator may set its own limits. Ask your instructor which ones apply to you.
- Rule of thumb. At 30° off, the crosswind is about half the wind; at 45°, about seven tenths; from about 60° to 90°, nearly all of it. Past 90° the wind is behind you, and the crosswind shrinks again as the tailwind grows.