Plan glide-safer cross-countries
A crosswind finder and a glide-aware route planner, built around real METARs and TAFs. Free in your browser.
Crosswind finder
Find nearby airports where the wind right now (or in the forecast) gives you the crosswind component you want to practice.
Open the crosswind finderGlide-aware planner
Plot cross-country routes that keep a qualifying landing airport within glide range for as much of the flight as possible.
Plan a routeTime-zone calculator
Convert origin local, destination local, UTC / Zulu, and arrival times across a flight — DST-aware via each airport's time zone.
Open the time-zone toolPilot guides
Practical guides on the topics that come up around these tools — paired with the runway crosswind calculator, the glide-aware VFR flight planner, and the pilot UTC / Zulu time converter.
Crosswind component calculator
The sine rule, three pilot rules of thumb, and worked examples for the runway crosswind calculator.
Crosswind chart
Read the classic crosswind chart at a glance — arcs, radials, and the mental shortcuts pilots use on final.
VFR flight planning checklist
A working preflight checklist — weather, weight, route, fuel, and go/no-go — alongside the glide-aware VFR flight planner.
Glide distance planning
How to think about glide ratio, wind correction, and safety margins so your route stays in glide range.
Zulu time for pilots
UTC, local, DST and how to read METAR / TAF / NOTAM timestamps with the pilot UTC / Zulu time converter.
Flight diversion planning
Pre-decide diversion criteria, pick alternates on the ground, and follow a clean in-flight decision flow.
New here?
Short walkthroughs covering both tools — how the math works, what the inputs mean, and how to read the results.
- Find a runway with the crosswind component you want to train on
- Plot a cross-country that stays in glide range of a runway
- Export the route to ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot
- Why this is free — a note from the pilot who built it
Why this is free
A short note from the pilot who built Aero Companion — why the core tools cost nothing, where the idea came from, and how thinking through wind, glide, and crosswind decisions on the ground keeps options open in the air.
Read it