Welcome to CrosswindBay
November 14, 2026
Every airport has one room that feels like home: the pilot lounge. The weather is up on the screen, somebody is talking about where they flew last weekend, there is coffee that has been on the burner a little too long, and there is always a kid with their nose against the window watching a departure.
I work around airplanes in South Florida, and that room is my favorite part of any field. CrosswindBay is my attempt to build it online.
CrosswindBay is an independent, owner-run site. It is not affiliated with, or speaking for, any airport, airline, government agency or employer.
What is in the lounge
Pilot Lounge: type any ICAO airport code and get the current METAR and TAF straight from the NOAA Aviation Weather Center, decoded into plain English, plus nearby traffic from community ADS-B receivers. There is a market board too, for the hangar-flying finance talk.
Travel Map: fly-outs, fly-ins and family trips that are worth the fuel. The first pins are close to home in South Florida, and the list will grow.
Journal: that is where you are now. Expect practical posts (how to read a METAR or a TAF, checkride week, a first home sim setup), gift guides that do not fill the hangar with junk, and short, sourced explainers when something in aviation news affects travelers or pilots.
Arcade: free aviation games you can play in a browser with no login. Land planes in Tower Control, clear the taxi line in Beacon Blast, or sprint the terminal in Catch Your Flight. They are made for the FBO couch and the gate area.
Gear: what we actually use and give, and the CrosswindBay shop, where we sell our own aviation designs: apparel, prints, mugs and desk pieces for airport people.
How we keep it honest
- Weather and traffic are for learning, not for flight planning. Always get an official briefing before you fly.
- News posts stick to what is on the public record, with sources listed at the bottom. If a fact is not confirmed, it does not go in.
- Money: the site is free. We sell our own products on Etsy, and some links may become affiliate links in the future. When that happens they will be marked, and our disclosure page explains how it works. A commission never decides what we recommend.
Pull up a chair
If you have a fly-out we should add to the map, a question for the Journal, or a game idea for the arcade, email us at [email protected].
Stay sharp, and blue skies.