Crew rest calculator.
A crew rest calculator splits the rest window on a long flight into equal rests for each crew, with a handover gap between them. Enter the window in UTC, choose how many pilots and how many rests each, and you get every rest start and end in Zulu.
Four digits, 24-hour UTC. Past midnight is handled. This is the same maths CrewCheck uses.
How the split works
- Find the window. From the start of the rest period to the end, in UTC. 0330Z to 0930Z is six hours.
- Work out the crews. An even number of pilots rests in pairs, so four pilots make two crews. An odd number rests one at a time, so three pilots make three.
- Take out the handovers. Between every rest there's a gap for the handover. Four rests with 5 minute gaps lose 15 minutes.
- Divide what's left. 345 minutes over four rests is 86 minutes each, rounded down to 1h 25m.
- Lay them out in order. Crew 1 rests 0330Z to 0455Z, crew 2 from 0500Z, and so on until each crew has had its rests.
In the app
In CrewCheck the crew rest calculator sits in the tools, a tap from your checklist, and it works in Slide Over beside your EFB on iPad. You can set two to six pilots, one to three rests each, a handover gap of none, 5, 10 or 15 minutes, and round down to 5 minutes. Then edit any single rest by hand, and CrewCheck keeps the totals fair and warns you when a rest drops under 30 minutes.
Questions
How do you split crew rest between pilots?
Take the rest window, subtract a handover gap between each rest, and divide what's left equally between the rests. With four pilots, two crews of two take turns. With three pilots, each pilot rests on their own.
Does the calculator check flight time limitations?
No. It splits the time you give it. Your operator's rest rules and flight time limitations decide what's allowed.
Does it work across midnight UTC?
Yes. A window from 2200Z to 0400Z is treated as six hours.
Is crew rest free in CrewCheck?
The crew rest calculator is part of CrewCheck Pro. CrewCheck itself is free to download.
Your operator's approved checklists and SOPs always come first. Your operator's rest rules and flight time limitations decide what's allowed. This calculator only splits the time.