Straight down the runway
Runway 270°, wind 270° at 15 kt: 15.0 kt headwind with no crosswind.
WIND & RUNWAY
Headwind component calculator
Find the wind working with—or against—your runway.
Headwind component11.6 ktWind from ahead
Runway & wind
Live calculationSpeed units
Heading references: magnetic
Written METAR wind uses true north. Select the reference stated by your wind source.
Choose an actual runway
Type a country or airport code. An exact code selects its airport; a runway code such as FAOR 03L also fills the heading.
Runway designators give approximate magnetic headings in 10° steps. Check current official charts.
Runway data and heading reference
A selected runway uses its published designator as an approximate magnetic heading in 10° steps: runway 06 gives 060°, runway 24 gives 240°. No variation is added. OurAirports snapshot loading. Check current official airport information and NOTAMs before flight. Runway data ↗
°
Use the published runway heading°
Direction the wind is coming fromkt
Steady reported windkt
Leave blank if no gusts reportedRunway shortcut & reciprocal
Runway numbers approximate magnetic headings in 10° steps.
Your wind, resolved.
LIVE RESULTSHeadwind component
11.6kt
Wind from ahead
Crosswind component13.8 kt
Gust crosswind19.9 kt
Wind angle50.0 °
Wind is 50.0° off the runway. Expect a crosswind from the right.
Compare runway headings
Current heading and reciprocal, using the same wind. Additional headings use magnetic north. This compares wind components only—not runway suitability.
| Heading | Crosswind | Gust crosswind | Along runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| 270.0° | 13.8 from right | 19.9 | 11.6 headwind |
| 90.0° | 13.8 from left | 19.9 | 11.6 tailwind |
Report a calculation issue
Describe what you expected. This creates a report you can send to the site maintainer; it does not submit anything automatically.
A LITTLE THEORY
Make sense of your result.
Separate the along-runway headwind or tailwind from the total reported wind.
How to use this calculator
Choose an airport runway or enter a heading, then use a matching wind reference. The output labels negative headwind as tailwind.
The formula
Headwind = V × cos(θ); negative values indicate tailwindθ is wind direction minus runway heading or course, normalized to −180° to 180°. V is wind speed. Results round to one decimal; calculations use full precision. Speed units are converted through knots.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE01 02
Worked examples
Wind from behind
Runway 270°, wind 090° at 10 kt: 10.0 kt tailwind.
A few common questions
Does a 90° wind give any headwind?+
No. A perfectly perpendicular wind has zero along-runway component.
Can I derive a takeoff distance from this?+
No. Use the approved aircraft performance charts and their wind correction rules.
A planning aid. Always use your judgement.
Do not apply headwind benefits or tailwind penalties to performance without the aircraft-specific approved procedure. This tool does not replace your aircraft operating handbook, official weather, regulations or pilot judgement.