How to use Route mode
Route mode draws a polyline on the map and shows headwind, crosswind and gust along it for your chosen departure hour and groundspeed. This guide covers the controls, the worst-crosswind line, the sparklines and the best departure.
ON THIS PAGE
Steps
Open the Route tab
Go to /app. In the inspector, find the row of three tabs labelled Point, Route and Golf, and choose Route. Picking the Motorsport persona in the top bar opens this tab for you. On a phone, drag the inspector sheet up to see the tabs.
Add waypoints on the map
With Route selected, click or tap the map to drop waypoints. A counter shows how many of 20 you have used, and the hint changes from "Click the map to add waypoints" to "Waypoint limit reached". At least two points are needed before anything is analysed. You can also use Import GPX to load a track.
Set departure and groundspeed
Departure is read-only: it is the hour selected on the time strip, so drag the strip to change it. Type your speed in "Groundspeed km/h", between 1 and 900. It is always in kilometres per hour, whatever display unit you chose, and it sets how long each part of the route takes to reach.
Read the worst crosswind line
After a moment of "Sampling the route…", a line reads like "worst crosswind 14 mph R at km 12 · 14:00 site". R means the wind comes from the right of your track and L from the left. If your Limit is set and the crosswind is above it, the line turns ember and ends with EXCEED.
Read the sparklines and best departure
Three small charts show Mean headwind, Worst crosswind and Max gust 10 m for each departure hour over the next 24, with a cursor at your departure hour. Beneath them, "Best departure" gives an hour and a reason. Use Undo to remove the last point, or Clear to remove all.
Tip: Waypoints are not saved. Choosing a new place or reloading starts the route again.
01What Route mode is for
Route mode shows how wind meets a line rather than a point: a drone leg, a boat passage, a spray run or a driven route. For each segment it works out the component of wind along the track, the headwind, and across it, the crosswind. It reads the 10 m model wind, so the figures describe near-surface wind, whatever height is set in the top bar. It is part of the instrument and works on the same time strip, so the departure hour you scrub to is the hour the route starts.
02Building the route
Waypoints join in the order you click them, with a segment between each pair. The limit is 20. The same Undo and Clear buttons manage them, and Clear is disabled until there is at least one point. Import GPX reads track or route points from a .gpx file and thins them to fit, always keeping the last point; a note afterwards reads like "240 GPX points → 20 waypoints". If the file holds no points the note reads "No track points found". Total distance appears beside the counter once analysis returns.
03Time-coupled reading
Each segment is not read at one shared moment. Its arrival time is the departure plus the distance to its middle divided by your groundspeed, and the worst-crosswind line uses the forecast hour nearest that arrival. A slower speed pushes later segments into later hours of wind. The sparklines, by contrast, are whole-route figures for each departure hour. The footnote under them says so. The forecast reaches about three days, so a start far ahead is trimmed with a warning.
04Headwind, crosswind and gust
Mean headwind is the length-weighted average along the route, and the sign tells the direction: positive is headwind, negative is tailwind. Worst crosswind is the largest crosswind on any segment in that hour. Max gust 10 m is the strongest 10 m gust on the route. A cursor on each chart sits at your departure hour so that you can see how the next hours compare. Your display unit applies to all three.
05The limit in Route mode
Route mode uses the same Limit field as the rest of the instrument. There is no separate crosswind limit. Segments on the map are drawn as over the limit when the absolute crosswind is above it, and the worst-crosswind line says EXCEED. The limit still has to come from your own document, for instance an aircraft or vessel crosswind limit, and the instrument does not judge whether a crosswind limit is the right one for your task.
06What Best departure means
Best departure is the departure hour in the next 24 with the highest comfort score from the route service. The score starts at 100 and takes away points for mean headwind, for the worst crosswind, and for gust above 15 mph. The reason line spells out the numbers. It ignores your Limit, and it ignores whether you can leave at that time. Treat it as a pointer to calmer hours, then check the worst-crosswind line for the hour you actually plan.
07If something goes wrong
"Route unavailable" followed by a reason means the wind request failed; try again or move a waypoint. "Worst segment, no wind values returned" means the model gave no values for the route. With fewer than two points nothing is analysed and no results show. Choosing a new place clears the route. The route panel gives wind data and evidence, not a decision, so the call remains with the person responsible.
Questions
How many waypoints can I add?
Twenty. When you reach it the hint changes to "Waypoint limit reached". Import GPX reduces long tracks to 20 points by taking every few points and keeping the final one.
What does time-coupled exposure mean?
Each segment is read at the hour you would reach it, from your departure hour and groundspeed, instead of one hour for the whole route. It shows how a slow or long route runs into later wind. The wind itself is the 10 m model level.
Does groundspeed have to be in km/h?
Yes. The field is always kilometres per hour, from 1 to 900, even when you display wind in knots or mph. Convert your speed before typing it.
What is the Best departure suggestion?
The hour with the highest comfort score, which penalises headwind, the worst crosswind and gusts over 15 mph. The reason line gives the figures. It does not use your limit, so confirm the hour against the worst-crosswind line.
When do I see No track points found?
Only after Import GPX, when the file you chose has no track or route points in it. An empty map does not produce that message. Choose another file, or add waypoints by clicking the map.