Multi-Leg Trip Time Calculator
Three legs with their own ground speeds, plus fuel stops — total airborne time, total trip time and the average speed the whole journey really made.
The trip-average speed is the honest one: two fuel stops turn a 130-kt airplane into a 95-kt journey. It's the number to quote when comparing against driving — and the argument for tankering range when payload allows.
Formula
⚠️ For flight planning and education only — verify with official sources, your POH/AFM and certified equipment. Not for primary navigation.
Three legs with their own ground speeds, plus fuel stops — total airborne time, total trip time and the average speed the whole journey really made.
About Multi-Leg Trip Time Calculator
Cross-countries aren't one division but several, glued together by fuel stops that the brochure speed forgets. This planner takes up to three legs with their own winds (hence ground speeds), adds realistic stop time between them, and reports the figure that actually answers 'when do we get there?' — plus the trip-average speed, which is the only fair number to race against the highway.
How to use Multi-Leg Trip Time Calculator
- 1Enter — sensible defaults are pre-filled so you see a worked result immediately.
- 2Read the live results: .
- 3Check the "With your numbers" line to see the formula Σ(distance/GS) per leg + stops × stop time; trip speed = total distance ÷ total elapsed substituted step by step.
- 4Adjust inputs (or flip the unit toggle) until the scenario matches yours, then copy or share the result.
Why use Multi-Leg Trip Time Calculator?
- ✓Instant, free and private — every calculation runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded
- ✓Built on the published formula Σ(distance/GS) per leg + stops × stop time; trip speed = total distance ÷ total elapsed with sources cited on the page
- ✓The trip-average speed is the honest one: two fuel stops turn a 130-kt airplane into a 95-kt journey. It's the number to quote when comparing against driving — and the argument for tankering range when payload allows.
- ✓Switch units, tweak any input and watch every result update live
Frequently asked questions
How much time does a fuel stop really cost?+
Forty-five minutes is a disciplined GA average: descent and pattern (10), taxi and shutdown (5), fueling (15 if the truck's free, self-serve similar), pay/stretch/brief (10), start-taxi-runup-depart (10+). Busy FBOs, full-service waits or a lunch turn it into 90. Budgeting 30 'because we'll be quick' is how arrival times slip a half hour at a time.
When does a fuel stop beat flying slower to stretch range?+
Compare honestly: long-range cruise might cut burn 15% at 10% less speed, sometimes converting two stops to one — saving 45 minutes outright. Run your POH's economy table against this tool with both leg structures. Often the slower-but-nonstop plan wins door-to-door, the opposite of the instinct to firewall it between stops.
Why is the trip-average speed so much lower than cruise?+
Stops are zero-speed time averaged in: 395 nm airborne at 125 kt is 3:10, but one 45-minute stop drags the door-to-door average to ~101 kt. Add the drive to the airport and preflight, and the honest GA door-to-door for mid-length trips lands near highway-plus-a-third — which is still a win, but only when quoted truthfully.
Should the legs use the same ground speed?+
Rarely — wind shifts along the route and with the time of day, and altitude choices differ per leg. Run each leg's wind through our flight-time-with-wind tool (or your EFB) and bring the resulting GS values here. Legs into deteriorating afternoon headwinds are exactly where multi-leg ETAs go to die.
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