Free aviation route planner

Great Circle Map, Flight Planner, Wind-Adjusted Aircraft Range & ETOPS Analysis

Great Circle Pro is a free, browser-based great circle map and aviation flight planning tool for pilots, dispatchers, route planners, and aviation enthusiasts. Plot great circle routes, draw wind-adjusted aircraft range circles, run ETOPS diversion analysis, and estimate flight time, fuel burn, and CO2 across 12,000+ airports, with nothing to install.

Great circle routes, aircraft range circles, and ETOPS analysis

Great Circle Route Map

Plot the shortest path over a round earth between any two of 12,000+ airports, then view it correctly on six projections from Mercator to the orthographic globe. Every route includes great-circle and rhumb-line distance for quick planning comparison.

Wind-Adjusted Aircraft Range

See how far an aircraft can realistically reach from any airport after seasonal winds aloft are applied. Compare winter, summer, and average conditions as headwinds and tailwinds reshape the range envelope around the published aircraft capability.

ETOPS Diversion Analysis

Evaluate over-water and remote routes against ETOPS / EDTO diversion requirements. Add suitable alternates, visualize one-engine-inoperative diversion coverage, and see which route segments are protected or exposed for the selected rating.

Flight Time & Fuel Burn

Estimate block time, flight time, and fuel burn by aircraft type with phase-specific taxi, climb, cruise, and descent logic. Seasonal cruise winds feed directly into groundspeed, producing useful estimates for short-haul, long-haul, and transpacific routes.

Flight Emissions

Calculate route CO2 from the same phase-by-phase fuel model, then compare CO2e with non-CO2 warming effects aloft. The standalone Emissions Calculator adds SAF scenarios, contrail risk, and cabin-class allocation.

Closed Airspace Avoidance

Model detours around restricted regions such as Russia and Ukraine, with block time, fuel burn, range check, and CO2 recomputed against the longer operational route rather than the ideal great circle.

One aviation planner instead of separate route and range calculators

Legacy great circle mappers are useful for drawing a geodesic and measuring distance. Range-only aircraft calculators are useful for seeing where one airplane might reach from one airport. Great Circle Pro connects those jobs into one workflow: plot the route, compare projections, test aircraft range, apply seasonal winds, check ETOPS coverage, estimate fuel and CO2, and model airspace detours from the same map.

That integrated view is especially helpful for long-haul, polar, transpacific, and remote-oceanic planning questions where distance alone is not enough. A route can be short on a globe but still fail an aircraft range check, need an Anchorage fuel stop, or require a higher ETOPS rating once wind and diversion alternates are considered.

Flight planning features Calculation methodology Aircraft range database Range circle guide ETOPS explained

Frequently asked questions

What is a great circle route?

A great circle is the shortest path between two points on a sphere. On a flat map it looks curved, but it is the shortest-distance line long-haul routes are planned around, not the exact track flown, which also bends for winds, airways, and closed airspace. Great Circle Pro draws it precisely between any airport pair, with great-circle and rhumb-line distance side by side.

Is Great Circle Pro free?

Yes. The core tool, great circle maps, range circles, ETOPS analysis, and flight-time and fuel estimates, is free and runs in your browser. A magic-link sign-in unlocks a few extra features.

How is this different from a simple great circle mapper or aircraft range map?

A simple great circle mapper focuses on distance and map display. A range-only map focuses on aircraft reach from one airport. Great Circle Pro combines route mapping, wind-adjusted aircraft range, ETOPS diversion coverage, flight time, fuel burn, emissions, and closed-airspace detours in the same browser tool.

How accurate are the range circles?

Range circles use each aircraft's published payload-range envelope adjusted for real seasonal winds at cruise altitude. They are planning-grade estimates calibrated to manufacturer data, not a substitute for an operator's dispatch system.

What does the ETOPS tool do?

It sizes the one-engine-inoperative diversion radius for a chosen rating, places suitable alternates, and reports coverage on the regulatory still-air ISA basis, with an optional 85th-percentile adverse-wind view showing what a bad-wind day would cost.

How does it calculate flight time and fuel?

Both are modelled by flight phase, taxi, climb, cruise, and descent, for each aircraft type, with the cruise leg sampling the actual jet stream along the route. That makes short hops and long hauls both come out right from one model.

Which aircraft and airports are included?

More than 12,000 airports and a broad fleet of airliners, freighters, and business jets, each with published cruise speed, range, and payload data.