9.5. Wind data used in flight plans

In Australia, AvPlan EFB receives the information seen in GPWT charts, in a database format. The winds database package is downloaded in the background and applied to the flight plan automatically when planning below 14,000 feet AMSL. Where the flight is planned above 14,000 feet, AvPlan EFB moves seamlessly to the upper level global wind model.

In New Zealand, wind data below 10,000’ AMSL are extracted from NZ area forecasts. Above 10,000’ AMSL wind data is taken from the global aviation winds forecast model; see below.

For flights planned elsewhere, wind data are extracted from the global aviation winds forecast model (WIFS) and applied to your flight plan. For the keen meteorology student, this is the WIFS website. (An account is required for access).

*The wind strength/direction for a planned leg is sampled from overhead the arrival waypoint for that leg, at the cruise/passing altitude set in the flight plan and expected time of arrival.

*If your planned cruise altitude sits in between levels found within the database (e.g. 4,500ft AMSL), AvPlan EFB performs a linear interpolation between the level below to the level above for both wind velocity and direction.