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Wind correction calculator
The heading that holds your track in a wind, and the groundspeed you’ll get.
Heading to hold a track
Where a heading takes you
The same triangle the other way round: from a heading to the track and drift.
How the wind triangle works
An aircraft moves through the air, and the air itself moves over the ground. Add the two together and you get where the aircraft really goes. To hold a track, you point the nose a little into the wind:
- Wind correction angle: sin(angle) = crosswind ÷ TAS
- Groundspeed = TAS × cos(angle) − headwind
Take a track of 360° at 120 kt with a wind from 090° at 20 kt. The whole wind is crosswind, so sin(angle) = 20 ÷ 120 and the angle is about 10°. Fly heading 010°, at a groundspeed of about 118 kt.
A rule of thumb
The largest drift you can get is about wind speed ÷ miles per minute. At 120 kt you cover 2 NM a minute, so a 20 kt wind gives at most 20 ÷ 2 = 10°. If the wind is only partly across, take a share of that: half at 30° off the nose, about three-quarters at 45°, and nearly all of it from 60° on.
Why controllers care
A controller’s heading isn’t a track. Give two aircraft the same heading in a strong crosswind and both drift the same way, which is why a good vector allows for the wind, especially when turning an aircraft onto the final approach. Enter all directions as either true or magnetic, not a mix: METAR winds are true.
Quick answers
How do you calculate wind correction angle?
Divide the crosswind by the TAS and take the inverse sine. A 20 kt crosswind at 120 kt TAS gives about 10°. As a shortcut, divide the crosswind by your miles per minute: 20 ÷ 2 = 10°.
What is the difference between heading and track?
Heading is where the nose points. Track is the path over the ground. The angle between them is the drift, and it comes from the wind.
Does a crosswind change groundspeed?
A little. The aircraft is pointing partly into the wind, so less of its speed goes along the track. With a 20 kt crosswind at 120 kt, it loses about 2 kt.
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For training and simulation only. These calculators are for learning and for games. Their results are automatic, and they don’t account for everything a real operation does. Never use them for real flight planning, navigation or air traffic control. Use your official charts, approved tools and procedures.
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