Balloon Crumbs — Pilot flight planner

Launch

Search for a place, click the map, or use this device’s location.

Submit-only search using © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Do not enter personal or confidential information.

Choose a launch point.

Forecast setup

Choose the day and ground elevation; the optimiser searches the start time.

Flight date to search Launch elevation m MSL

The destination search tries the remaining start times on the selected day, a 10–180 minute duration and four altitude controls between launch elevation and 2,000 m MSL. Start time and peak altitude are outputs, not inputs.

Wind layer

UKMO UKV forecast via Open-Meteo across a wide 5×5 grid.

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Displayed altitude 500 m MSL

Set a launch point to load wind.

Arrows are spatially interpolated between the 25 source points across the visible sampling area. They point downwind; labels show km/h. Height levels are metres above mean sea level.

Destination and landing envelope

Optimise start time, duration and a changing altitude profile toward a destination.

Waiting for a wind forecast.

Set a launch point to calculate the landing envelope.

The purple boundary is a convex envelope of coarse forecast endpoints, not a guarantee that every point inside it is reachable or suitable for landing. A result within 100 m is marked as a forecast match; its reported time window only applies to that forecast profile. The optimiser does not assess airspace, terrain, legal limits, fuel or the balloon’s actual climb/descent performance.

Aeronautical chart

OpenAIP advisory airspace context.

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Chart key and limitations

: Purple/blue areas commonly mark controlled airspace.
: Red areas commonly mark restricted, prohibited or danger areas.
: Orange/yellow areas can mark special-use or caution areas.
: Labels and boundary styles give class and vertical limits.

Colours are a reading aid, not a legal interpretation. OpenAIP may omit temporary restrictions and current NOTAMs.

Create the same short plan code flow used by TEC.

Plan name

Click the map to set the launch point

Loading basemap tiles…

Launch Forecast landing Destination Altitude-coloured forecast track Forecast landing envelope