Horizontal directional drilling · shot planning

HDD Pitch Planner

Walk the bore with your phone to get ground elevations, then get the pitch to set on every rod so you land at depth and clear every utility.

The shot

Distance is measured flat along the ground from the entry. Depths are below ground. The target depth and minimum cover are floors: the path can go deeper to get under a utility, but never past the maximum depth.

Ground shots
Out (ft)Elev (ft)

Use any elevation datum, as long as every shot uses the same one. The Walk tab fills these in from your phone.

Utility crossings

Reamer size is the largest reamer you'll pull back. Clearance is then measured from the edge of the reamed hole, not the pilot. Utility depth is to the top of the utility, from potholing or as-builts.

Steering

Entry pitch is the rig angle as the locator reads it. 16 and −16 both mean 16% down. Pitch at target of 0 means level.

Copies this plan and your bore walk as text, so you can paste it to Claude or save it.

Example shot: a 150 ft road crossing with a ditch, a gas main and a fiber line. Replace the numbers with yours.

    Checks cover and every crossing

      Profile vertical scale exaggerated

      Bore pathReamed holeGroundMinimum coverUtility clearanceMaximum depth

      Rod sheet depth is to the center of the bore, what the locator should read at the end of each rod

      RodPhasePitchOut (ft)Depth (ft)Bit elevCrossing