Understanding the CX-3
The CX-3 is the electronic version of the classic E6B flight computer. It replaces the manual whiz-wheel with a button-driven calculator that produces the same answers faster and with fewer user errors. It is the calculator most Indian and international flight schools recommend for new students learning navigation and flight planning.
The CX-3 is an electronic flight computer manufactured and sold by Sporty's, one of the oldest pilot-supply companies in the world. It is the modern, button-driven successor to the analogue E6B that pilots have used for flight planning since the Second World War.
The calculator embedded above is the official CX-3 web app, hosted by Sporty's themselves. Every mode and every answer matches the handheld unit exactly, so any practice you do here transfers directly to the physical calculator in an exam or in the cockpit.
The CX-3 covers the full standard flight-planning syllabus in a single device. Each capability below is a separate mode on the calculator above — tap into the matching menu inside the emulator to try the calculation yourself.
Time, Speed, Distance
Solve any TSD leg in either direction — find time-en-route from groundspeed and distance, or work backwards from the time you have available.
Fuel planning
Compute fuel burn, endurance, and range from fuel flow. Useful for route planning and for working through DGCA navigation problems on paper.
Wind triangle
Resolve heading, ground speed, wind correction angle, or the true wind itself when you only know the other components.
Density altitude & TAS
Calculate density altitude from pressure altitude and OAT, and turn calibrated airspeed into true airspeed for cruise performance work.
Mach & ISA deviation
Useful for ATPL-level questions — convert between Mach number and TAS, and check ISA deviation against a temperature lapse rate.
Weight & balance
Run a centre-of-gravity calculation given station moments and weights. Same answers you would get from an aircraft loading sheet.
Unit conversions
Distance, weight, volume, pressure, temperature — every conversion the syllabus expects, without juggling separate formulas or tables.
Cross-country planning
Stitch the individual modes together to build a full cross-country plan: leg distance, ETE, fuel, wind correction, and arrival time.
- Student pilots learning navigation and flight planning for the first time, who need a faster way to check their manual whiz-wheel work.
- CPL and ATPL trainees preparing for DGCA Navigation, Air Navigation, and Flight Planning papers where speed of calculation matters.
- Instructors who want a shared online calculator they can demo on a screen during ground school without each student needing their own physical CX-3.
- Anyone preparing for FAA, EASA, or ICAO equivalent papers — the underlying flight-computer maths is the same regardless of authority.