Wind Correction Angle Calculator (Wind Triangle)
The complete wind triangle solved exactly: course, TAS and wind in — heading, wind correction angle and ground speed out, E6B-style.
Positive WCA crabs into wind from the right. The triangle is exact trigonometry — the metal E6B's wind side draws precisely this solution with a pencil dot and a slide.
Formula
⚠️ For flight planning and education only — verify with official sources and certified equipment. Not for primary navigation.
The complete wind triangle solved exactly: course, TAS and wind in — heading, wind correction angle and ground speed out, E6B-style.
About Wind Correction Angle Calculator (Wind Triangle)
Hold the course and the wind wins; the wind triangle is how pilots pre-pay the drift instead. This calculator solves it exactly — the same trigonometry the E6B's wind face performs mechanically — converting course, TAS and the forecast wind into the heading to fly, the crab angle you'll hold, and the ground speed that feeds every downstream time and fuel number on the navlog.
How to use Wind Correction Angle Calculator (Wind Triangle)
- 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 sin(WCA) = W·sin(wind − course)/TAS; GS = TAS·cos(WCA) − W·cos(wind − course) substituted step by step.
- 4Adjust inputs (or flip the unit toggle) until the scenario matches yours, then copy or share the result.
Why use Wind Correction Angle Calculator (Wind Triangle)?
- ✓Instant, free and private — every calculation runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded
- ✓Built on the published formula sin(WCA) = W·sin(wind − course)/TAS; GS = TAS·cos(WCA) − W·cos(wind − course) with sources cited on the page
- ✓Positive WCA crabs into wind from the right. The triangle is exact trigonometry — the metal E6B's wind side draws precisely this solution with a pencil dot and a slide.
- ✓Switch units, tweak any input and watch every result update live
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between course and heading, precisely?+
Course is the path over the ground you intend (drawn on the chart); heading is where the nose points to achieve it. The wind correction angle is their difference — the crab. Track is what actually happened. When wind is forecast perfectly, track equals course; the navlog's whole wind-triangle column exists to make that true.
True or magnetic — which goes into the triangle?+
Either, consistently: the triangle is pure geometry and doesn't care, but every input must share the reference. Convention solves it in true (winds-aloft forecasts are true, chart courses measure true) and converts the final heading to magnetic with variation at the end — the TVMDC chain our magnetic-heading tools handle.
How big do wind correction angles get in practice?+
sin(WCA) = crosswind/TAS caps it: a 20-kt direct crosswind on a 110-kt trainer is 10.5°; the same wind troubles a 250-kt jet by only 4.6°. Slow aircraft live with big crabs — a Cub in 25 knots may hold 20°+ — and when the required sine exceeds 1, the wind literally outruns the airplane sideways.
Why does my GPS track differ from this solution en route?+
Because the forecast wind isn't the actual wind — the triangle is exact; its inputs are weather. The in-flight loop: note the heading that actually holds the magenta line, compare with the computed one, and the difference is the wind-forecast error (our in-flight drift tool inverts it into the real wind). Dead reckoning is the art of starting right and correcting early.
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