Runway orientation analysis per FAA AC 150/5300-13B
BETA — This tool is in active development. Data and calculations should be independently verified before use in official documents or submissions. Feedback welcome at cocanojm@yahoo.com
Wind Data Source ?Enter or paste wind observation data. Supports CSV format (direction, speed range, frequency) or raw ASOS data. Use at least 10 years of data for FAA compliance.
Enter wind observation data manually, paste from NOAA/ASOS, or use sample data for demonstration.
How to get wind data:
Option A — Iowa Environmental Mesonet (recommended):
1. Go to mesonet.agron.iastate.edu
2. Select your station (e.g., KJFK), set date range to 10+ years
3. Check fields: Wind Direction, Wind Speed, format = CSV
4. Download, then paste or upload below
Option B — NOAA Integrated Surface Database:
1. Go to ncei.noaa.gov ISD
2. Search for your station, download hourly observations as CSV
FAA recommends minimum 10 consecutive years of hourly wind observations for runway orientation analysis.
Format: direction(degrees), speed(knots), frequency(%) — one row per bin. Or paste raw ASOS/NOAA wind frequency data.
Processed Wind Frequency Table (%) ?Shows the percentage of time winds blow from each direction at each speed range. Rows = 16 compass directions; columns = wind speed bins in knots.
Percentage of observations by direction (rows) and speed range (columns)
Direction
Calm
1-3 kt
4-6 kt
7-10 kt
11-16 kt
17-21 kt
22-27 kt
28+ kt
Total
Wind Rose Diagram ?Visual polar chart showing wind frequency by direction and speed. Longer petals = more frequent winds from that direction. Colors indicate wind speed ranges.
Runway Wind Coverage Analysis ?Calculate what percentage of time winds are within allowable crosswind limits for your runway orientations. FAA requires 95% coverage for the appropriate RDC group.
FAA AC 150/5300-13B requires 95% wind coverage. Airports not meeting this threshold may need a crosswind runway.
Runway 1 Coverage
—
Runway 2 Coverage
—
Combined Coverage
—
FAA 95% Met?
—
Optimal Single Runway Orientation
The heading that maximizes wind coverage for the selected crosswind limit.
Optimal Heading:—
Coverage:—
Designation:—
Coverage by Crosswind Threshold ?Coverage at all four FAA crosswind limits so you can assess different aircraft categories.
Crosswind Limit
RDC Group
Rwy 1
Rwy 2
Rwy 3
Combined
Meets 95%?
Wind Analysis Reference
FAA Crosswind Standards
RDC
Crosswind Limit
Aircraft Type
A-I / B-I
10.5 kt
Small, visual approach
A-II / B-II
13 kt
Small, ≥ 3/4 mi visibility
A-III+ / B-III+
16 kt
Large or instrument approach
C / D (all)
20 kt
Air carrier operations
Key References
FAA AC 150/5300-13B — Airport Design
FAA AC 150/5060-5 — Airport Capacity and Delay
NOAA/NWS ASOS — Automated Surface Observing System
95% coverage minimum for runway orientation
10-year wind data minimum recommended
Data Sources
Wind data can be obtained from NOAA's Integrated Surface Database (ISD) or the Iowa Environmental Mesonet (IEM) ASOS download tool.