Knots to MPH Calculator
Knots → mph.
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Aviation
Wind Correction Angle Calculator
Get the crab angle and ground speed from airspeed and wind.
Wind correction angle
—
Crab angle.
| Ground speed | — |
|---|---|
| Crosswind | — |
| Head/tailwind | — |
| — |
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Enter your figures above to see the step-by-step working.
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How the Wind Correction Angle Calculator Works
To track a straight line over the ground in a crosswind, you have to point (crab) the nose slightly into the wind. That wind correction angle is asin(crosswind ÷ true airspeed), where the crosswind is the part of the wind blowing across your course (wind speed × sin of the angle between wind and course).
Enter true airspeed, wind speed and the wind’s angle to your course; the calculator gives the correction angle to hold, plus your ground speed and the head- or tailwind component. It’s the heart of the wind triangle every pilot solves in planning.
WCA = asin(wind × sin(angle) ÷ TAS)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the wind correction angle?
The angle you crab into the wind to keep the aircraft tracking a straight line over the ground despite a crosswind.
How do you calculate it?
Take the arcsine of the crosswind component divided by true airspeed. The crosswind is the wind speed times the sine of its angle to your course.
What is ground speed in a crosswind?
Roughly TAS times the cosine of the correction angle, minus the headwind component along your course.
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