A wind calculator for the rest of us!
What is Windsock?
Windsock is an application I created to calculate winds in-flight. I created this because I thought it would be handy for things like float flying, ski-flying, and to level the field a bit for the guys that don’t have a G-1000 in the cockpit to do this for them!
How does it work?
The initial release of the app is manual and works like a calculator. It has text inputs and a nice visualization that shows your track, heading, and calculated wind speed and direction.
In addition to calculating a wind speed and direction, this will also calculate your true airspeed. This can be handy for other performance calculation.
Limitations
In this release, all data is entered manually, and your true airspeed is calculate with a fairly low degree of precision, not accounting for temperature.
What’s next?
If there is demand for the features, I envision expanding this app a bit. Possible developments might include:
- Integration with built-in location capabilities (compass, gps)
- Integration with other flight data sources (Stratux, etc)
- More precise TAS that properly accounts for temperature
- A hold advisor that uses the computed wind speed/direction
- A landing direction advisor
- Real-time updates on the visualizer when connected to a source for flight data
- Other ideas? Let me know!
Installing on iPhone
Windsock is available through the Apple App Store. Click here to get it!
Installing on Android
Android and other non-apple devices can install Windsock as a progressive web app (PWA) here: https://windsock.fredread.com. I was planning to deploy this to the Google Play store, but since Android seems to have decent PWA support, there is no need.
Getting help
Need help using the app, or want to reach out with a request? Send an email to fred@fredread.com!