Crosswind Calculator
Enter a runway and the wind to get the headwind/tailwind and crosswind components.
Autofill the wind from the current METAR at an airport.
Headwind component
13 kt
Crosswind (from the right)
7.5 kt
Wind/runway angle: 30°.
Runway numbers are magnetic. Tower/ATIS winds are magnetic too, so enter those directly. A METAR wind is true— the autofill above corrects it to magnetic automatically using the airport’s variation; if you type a METAR wind by hand, adjust it for local variation yourself.
How this works
The angle between the wind and the runway determines the split:
- Headwind/tailwind = wind speed × cos(angle)
- Crosswind = wind speed × sin(angle)
A runway number is multiplied by 10 to get its magnetic heading (e.g. 27 → 270°). Always compare the crosswind against your aircraft’s demonstrated crosswind component.
For reference and training only. Not for navigation or flight planning — always verify against official current sources.