LEFT SEAT CULTURE PILOT TOOLS
Flight Computer Trainer
Operate a two-sided circular flight computer on screen, modelled closely on how a real CRP-1/CRP-5-style device works — work the built-in exercise step by step, then try it yourself.
FLIGHT COMPUTER TRAINER
Learn to fly a circular flight computer
A two-sided interactive circular flight computer, modelled closely on how a real CRP-1/CRP-5-style device actually works — a circular calculation side for speed/distance/time and fuel, and a wind side with a rotating compass disc and a sliding speed/drift grid. Work the built-in exercise end to end in Learn mode, then try it yourself in Practice mode.
Version history (1)
- v1.0 2026-08-12
- Initial release: a two-sided interactive flight computer. The circular side has a rotating log-scale ring (speed/distance/time and fuel/time share the same mechanism) plus a true-airspeed window with rotating pressure-altitude and OAT knobs. The wind side is modelled on a real Pooleys CRP-1/CRP-5: a rotating compass disc (used first to set wind direction, then again to set track), a wind mark you drag straight up by wind speed that rotates with the disc, and a separate speed/drift grid underneath that only slides vertically — slide it until the TAS arc runs through the mark, then read groundspeed off the arc at the fixed centre dot and drift off the lines under the mark.
- Learn mode guides you through the built-in worked exercise end to end — IAS to TAS, wind correction and heading, groundspeed, flight time, ETA and trip fuel — highlighting which control to use at each step and checking your reading with realistic analogue-reading tolerances.
- Practice mode gives you the same problem with the hints removed: operate the instrument yourself, then submit your readings across both sides for tolerance-checked scoring and a full worked solution.
- All calculations run through an independent wind-triangle and standard-atmosphere TAS engine, verified against the brief's own worked reference figures and covered by automated tests (headwind/tailwind/crosswind, 000/360 wraparound, zero wind, unit conversions).
- Not a branded replica of any specific manufacturer's device, but the wind side's mechanism is deliberately faithful to how a real CRP-1/CRP-5 works so the sequence of actions should transfer to the physical device. Deferred to a later update: Check My Answer, randomised/generated exercises, localStorage progress tracking, Challenge sets, and richer animations.
This isn't a branded replica of any specific manufacturer's flight computer, but the wind side's mechanism — a rotating compass disc, and a separate speed/drift grid that only slides vertically — is deliberately modelled on how a real Pooleys CRP-1/CRP-5 actually works, so the sequence of actions should transfer to the physical device. Every number it checks against comes from an independently tested calculation engine, not from the instrument's own geometry. Treat it as ground-school revision, not a substitute for your instructor or a real flight computer.
CIRCULAR SIDE — speed / distance / time / fuel
True airspeed window
IAS for this exercise: 90 kt
TAS — kt
Drag the inner ring. Align a rate under the top index, then read the answer opposite your known value on the outer scale — the same mechanism serves speed/distance/time and fuel burn/time (fuel burn stands in for speed, gallons stand in for distance).
WIND SIDE — track, heading & groundspeed
Rotate the disc to bring the wind's FROM direction under the Index Mark, then drag the wind mark straight up from the centre dot by the wind speed (using the arcs as a ruler). Rotate the disc again to bring your track under the Index Mark — the mark rotates with the disc and carries your wind plot with it. Slide the grid underneath until the TAS arc runs through the mark, then read groundspeed off the arc under the fixed centre dot, and drift off the lines under the mark.
Learn: the built-in exercise
IAS 90kt, PA 5000ft, OAT -10°C, wind 030°/15kt, track 090°, distance 115NM, departure 1000 UTC, burn 13 US gal/hr.
Practice: work it yourself
Same exercise, hints removed — operate the instrument above, then submit your readings across both sides for tolerance-checked scoring and a full worked solution.
What this tool is (and isn't)
This isn't a branded replica of any specific manufacturer's device, but the wind side is deliberately modelled on how a real Pooleys CRP-1/CRP-5 actually works — a compass disc that rotates (used first for wind direction, then again for track), and a separate speed/drift grid underneath that only slides vertically, carrying the wind mark with the disc's rotation exactly as the physical version does. Every value it checks your answers against comes from an independently tested calculation engine, not from the instrument's own geometry, and uses realistic analogue-reading tolerances rather than exact decimals. Treat it as a revision aid alongside your instructor and ground school, not a substitute for either or for a real flight computer in the aircraft.
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