WingX 2.0 User Manual - FAASafety.gov

Known Winds Aloft - Calculating Heading, Ground Speed, and WCA
By using known winds aloft, WingX allows a pilot to accurately calculate the required heading and the resulting
groundspeed and Wind Correct Angle (WCA). The following pieces of data must be entered:
• True Airspeed (TAS): The TAS can either be entered directly or calculated by WingX if the pilot
enters their Calibrated Airspeed and Temperature (see Airspeeds above). WingX propagates the TAS
value down into the TAS text box for winds aloft thereby freeing the pilot of entering the TAS.
• Course (Crs): The course that the aircraft is required to make over the ground. For example, if the
aircraft dead reckoning to an airport, then the pilot should use the calculated direction to the airport.
Alternatively, the GPS or LORAN system may display desired course.
• Wind Direction (WDir): The winds aloft direction as reported by the FSS Weather Report, Flight
Watch, or other weather reporting entity.
• Wind Speed (WSpd): The winds aloft speed as reported by the FSS Weather Report, Flight Watch, or
other weather reporting entity.
• Area (optional): Without entering the area in which the flight is occurring, the winds aloft can only be
assumed to be relative to Magnetic North. This is not consistent with Flight Service weather reports
since they report the winds aloft relative to True North. To have the winds aloft be assumed to be
relative to True North, enter a nearby airport, navaid, or fix and WingX will perform the necessary
variation adjustment for accurate results.
Example: Ensure that the “Known Wind” checkbox is checked to use the
known winds aloft; i.e. that the winds are known from a source such as
DUATs or Wingx’s Weather page. Using an example scenario, the True
Airspeed is 155 knots, the Course is 10˚ and the wind is 330@25. For
purposes an example, in these calculations the Area field has been left blank
thereby causing the results to be displayed relative to Magnetic North.
Runway Wind - Headwind and Crosswind Components
The majority of aircraft accidents are of the “fender-bender” variety that occurs on landing and more often than
not, the word “wind” appears in the accident report. Crosswind takeoff and landing skills diminish quickly
without practice and this is exacerbated by the fact that runways are usually built to face into the prevailing wind
thereby increasing the lack of crosswind practice.
Another advantage to being able to calculate both the headwind and crosswind is that these numbers are often
written in a solo student’s logbook by a Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) as one of the conditions for that
student’s solo flights.
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