Crosswind component calculator
The sine rule, three rules of thumb, two worked examples, and how to relate the number to your aircraft's POH demonstrated crosswind.
Practical guides on the topics pilots are already searching for around Aero Companion: crosswind and headwind components, Zulu time, NOTAM timestamps, VFR flight planning, glide distance, and diversion decisions.
The sine rule, three rules of thumb, two worked examples, and how to relate the number to your aircraft's POH demonstrated crosswind.
Reading the classic crosswind chart at a glance — arcs, radials, and shortcuts that get you within a knot or two without arithmetic.
Split any wind into runway headwind, tailwind, and crosswind components, including gusts and worked pilot examples.
Weather, weight and balance, route and alternates, fuel, personal minimums, and a structured go/no-go decision for VFR cross-countries.
Route, weather, fuel, alternates, filing, activation, closure, and how to keep the plan useful when assumptions change.
Glide ratio, the still-air glide ring, wind correction, and how to plan a cross-country that keeps a runway in glide range.
Why aviation uses UTC, how to convert between local and Zulu across DST, and how to read METAR/TAF/NOTAM timestamps.
A simple UTC conversion table, daylight-saving examples, date-change traps, and aviation timestamp explanations.
How to read NOTAM time windows, avoid date-conversion mistakes, and compare NOTAMs with METAR, TAF, and ETA timing.
Pre-decided diversion criteria, picking real alternates on the ground, and a clean in-flight decision flow when the plan stops matching reality.