Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

5 Answers

Best way to plan for winds aloft and cross country calculations?

Asked by: 11967 views Student Pilot

I am using aviationweather.gov along with 1-800-WX-BRIEF for pre-flight weather checks. Was wondering how would I obtain winds aloft and factor this into my cross country flight planning?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

5 Answers



  1. Chris Carlson on Jan 26, 2013

    http://aviationweather.gov/products/nws/winds/

    This is the source for winds and temp aloft text

    Read into chapter 15 of the handbook of aeronautical knowledge. This explains how to do cross country calculations including wind corrections.

    Is there a more specific calculation you had in mind?

    0 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 1 Votes



  2. Chris Carlson on Jan 26, 2013

    To add to the above…

    A from similar to this will help you in the process, as it provides a box for each step of the process.

    http://www.dauntless-soft.com/downloads/vfrfp22a.pdf

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Ben on Jan 26, 2013

    Thanks in the flight navigation log from ASA there is section for winds and calculations for course, TH, MH and so forth.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. Chris Carlson on Jan 26, 2013

    The basic series is…true course +/- wind correction angle (use the back of the e6b) this gives you true heading. True heading plus or minus the variation (the difference in true north versus magnetic north, add for west, subtract for east, and the value is obtained from the dashed purple lines on the chart) you now have calculated your magnetic heading. This is the direction you point your nose relative to magnetic north. The last (and usually tiny) correction is to correct for your compasses error, which can be found and interpolated from the compass correction car that is required to be in the aircraft.

    Good luck with your cross country!

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  5. MaggotCFII on Jan 27, 2013

    Perhaps you should schedule ground instruction with your CFI.

    What you are talking about is a basic skill that is alluded to the the
    PTS, Area of Operation VII, Task A: Pilotage and Navigation.

    -14 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 14 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.