Frequently Asked Questions

Your WX Score is based on YOUR personal minimums and aircraft capabilities, not generic VFR/IFR standards. Common reasons for a lower score include: • A specific condition (ceiling, visibility, crosswind, turbulence, icing) doesn't meet your minimums • Gusty crosswinds are triggering a caution penalty (sustained wind may be within limits, but gusts exceed them) • Weather is forecast to deteriorate during your flight • G-AIRMETs for IFR conditions or mountain obscuration near your route (scored by distance — closer = bigger penalty) • PROB30/PROB40 thunderstorms in the TAF (scored proportionally, not automatically unfavorable) • AIRMETs or SIGMETs affecting your route • Your aircraft's limitations (non-FIKI, crosswind limits) are being applied Click "View Score Breakdown" in your briefing to see exactly which factors are deducting points and by how much.

PlaneWX separates sustained crosswind from gust crosswind so you get a clearer picture of actual risk. Here's how it works: What you'll see: The Crosswind Analysis card shows both values — for example, "12 kt / 22 kt gust" — with color coding to indicate which is within your limits and which exceeds them. How scoring works depends on your experience level: • Standard tier (Private certificate or higher with 350+ total hours): The sustained crosswind component determines whether you get a hard NO-GO. If gusts exceed your limit but sustained winds are within it, you'll see a caution penalty (score deduction) rather than an automatic 0%. • Conservative tier (Student/Sport certificate or fewer than 350 total hours): The gust-based crosswind drives the hard limit. If gusts exceed your personal max crosswind, the flight scores 0% (NO-GO). Why the difference? Experienced pilots are trained to handle gusts that exceed the sustained wind component. Less experienced pilots benefit from the more conservative approach until they build proficiency. Your crosswind limits come from your Personal Minimums settings (soft/hard). You can adjust these in your Profile.

This is one of the most common questions we get, and it's actually by design. Here's what typically happens: • TAFs drive near-term scoring. Within 24 hours of departure, TAFs (Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts) become the primary scoring input. When a new TAF is issued — especially the morning amendment — it reflects real conditions that model guidance couldn't predict days earlier. • Models are optimistic at range. GFS and NBM models used for 3-7 day outlooks may show benign conditions, but the actual TAF issued 12-24 hours before departure may reveal gusty winds, low ceilings, newly issued AIRMETs, or convective activity. • New hazards appear. G-AIRMETs and SIGMETs are only issued for near-term weather (up to 12 hours). These products can introduce deductions or unfavorable conditions that simply didn't exist when you planned the trip. This is intentional: PlaneWX weights near-term, high-confidence data (TAFs, METARs, G-AIRMETs) more heavily than distant model guidance because it's more accurate. Tip: Check your briefing's History section to see exactly what changed and when. The Score Breakdown shows which specific factors drove the drop.

PlaneWX aggregates data from multiple official sources: • METARs – Current airport observations • TAFs – Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (24-30 hour forecasts) • Regional Weather – Synthesized from NWS Area Forecast Discussions • GFS/NBM – Extended forecast models • Model Consensus Winds – HRRR, GFS, NAM, and ECMWF upper-air winds for all planning horizons (current hour to 16 days) • AIRMETs/SIGMETs/G-AIRMETs – Hazard advisories (including graphical polygon data) • CWAs – Center Weather Advisories • CPC/WPC – Extended outlooks and synoptic analysis All data comes from NOAA, NWS, and FAA sources.

PlaneWX provides weather information from federal regulatory agencies (NOAA, NWS, FAA) to help pilots meet the requirement to obtain all available information before a flight. There is no regulatory requirement to obtain a briefing from any specific source — FAA Advisory Circular 91-92 endorses pilot self-briefing. The WX Score and AI analysis are decision-support tools. As pilot in command, you always make the final go/no-go decision.

VFR probability serves as a quick gauge of overall weather complexity. Low ceilings and reduced visibility alone aren't necessarily a problem for IFR pilots — that's routine. But very low VFR% (below 30-40%) often signals more than just clouds: active fronts, widespread precipitation, icing, turbulence, or convection that create challenges regardless of flight rules. Think of it as a weather complexity indicator rather than a flight-rules indicator. Your detailed briefing always covers the specifics — hazards, winds, icing, turbulence — that matter for your particular flight.

Go to Profile from the navigation, scroll to the Aircraft section, and click Edit on the aircraft you want to update. You can modify performance data, equipment, and aircraft-specific weather minimums.

Yes! You can add as many aircraft as you fly. Each aircraft can have its own performance profile and weather minimums. Set one as your default—it will be pre-selected when creating new trips. To add an aircraft, go to Profile → Aircraft → Add Aircraft.

TAFs (Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts) are typically only available for airports with weather reporting services. Smaller airports without an AWOS/ASOS may not have TAFs. When there's no TAF, PlaneWX uses: • The nearest airport's TAF as a proxy • Regional forecast models • Area Forecast Discussions The briefing will note when proxy data is being used.

Click the "Feedback" button in the navigation. You can report bugs, suggest features, or provide general feedback. Your input goes directly to the development team.

PAVE Risk Assessments are only available within 12 hours of your planned departure. This ensures the assessment reflects your current physical and mental state, not how you felt days earlier. As your departure approaches, the "Start PAVE Assessment" option will appear in your briefing.

Forecast accuracy decreases with time. PlaneWX accounts for this by: • Using confidence levels that decrease for distant flights • Relying on pattern analysis rather than specific conditions for 3+ days out • Updating frequently as new data becomes available Treat long-range WX Scores as trend indicators, not precise predictions. The score becomes increasingly accurate as departure approaches.

PlaneWX will still monitor weather for your trip automatically. However, you won't receive detailed analysis until you generate a briefing by tapping on the trip card. We recommend generating at least one briefing when you create the trip so you have a baseline to track changes.

Yes! Use the "My Crew" feature to add family, friends, or your flight instructor. They'll receive automatic email updates about weather conditions as your departure approaches. You can also add watchers to individual trips using the Crew button in the briefing view.

Go to Profile → Edit and enter your home airport's ICAO code (e.g., KSFB). This enables the Regional Weather Summary on your home screen and helps PlaneWX provide regional context in your briefings.

Many pilots use higher minimums for departure because: • You need room to maneuver if there's an emergency after takeoff • Return-to-airport options require sufficient ceiling • Takeoff is more demanding than approach in low visibility PlaneWX lets you set separate minimums for each phase of flight.

Onboard Weather Radar: Provides real-time, forward-looking detection of precipitation. You can see what's directly ahead, but with limitations (beam angle, attenuation). Datalink Radar (ADS-B In, satellite): Shows ground-based radar data on your display. It's great for strategic planning but has latency (data may be 5-15 minutes old) and shows what the radar sees, not necessarily what's ahead of you. PlaneWX adjusts convective weather guidance based on your aircraft's detection capabilities.

On the trip card, click the menu (three dots) and select "Delete Trip." Deleted trips and their briefing history are permanently removed. If you want to keep the history but hide the trip, you can archive it instead.

For Pro users, briefing refresh frequency increases as departure approaches: • 7-14 days out: Every 24 hours (pattern outlook) • 3-7 days out: Every 12 hours (GFS model updates) • 1-3 days out: Every 6 hours (NBM forecasts) • 6-24 hours out: Every 2 hours (TAF/METAR updates) • Under 6 hours: Every hour (aligned with METAR publication) • Final hour: Live weather fetch — data pulled directly from the Aviation Weather Center in real time Free users can manually refresh using the "Check Updates" button on their briefing. In the final hour before departure, this also fetches live weather data.

PlaneWX sends emails at key moments: • WX Score Alerts: When your score changes significantly (±10+ points) or status changes • Final Pre-Flight Briefing: ~30 minutes before departure with a summary • PAVE Reminder: ~1 hour before departure if you haven't completed it (if enabled) • Post-Flight Feedback: A few hours after departure to help us improve You can customize email preferences in your profile.

Your Final Pre-Flight Briefing email includes a "WX Score Journey" showing how your score evolved since you created the trip: • Started: The score when you first generated a briefing • Lowest: The lowest point (when weather looked worst) • Highest: The highest point (when weather looked best) • Final: Your current score at departure This helps you understand the weather trend over your planning period.

Yes. Go to Profile → Email Preferences to toggle: • All email notifications (master switch) • WX Score change alerts • PAVE reminders Trip watchers can also unsubscribe from any notification email using the link at the bottom.

PlaneWX supports trip planning up to 14 days out. However, forecast accuracy varies significantly by timeframe: • 1-3 days: TAFs available, high confidence • 3-7 days: GFS guidance, moderate confidence • 7-14 days: Pattern outlook only, low confidence For trips 4+ days out, PlaneWX shows qualitative outlooks (Favorable/Marginal/Unfavorable) rather than numeric WX Scores to avoid false precision.

Enhanced View is the default briefing display that adds visual data grids, gauge bars, color-coded flight categories, and structured metrics on top of the standard text analysis. It makes it easier to quickly scan conditions at a glance. To switch views: Look for the Enhanced View | Classic toggle near the top of your briefing, just above the Gotchas section. Your preference is saved automatically. Both views contain the same weather data and analysis — the difference is purely how the information is presented. Classic View shows a traditional text-based briefing with bullet points. You can also force a view using URL parameters: add ?v=2 for Enhanced or ?v=1 for Classic.

Convective Watch is a dedicated briefing section that appears when thunderstorm or convective activity is detected along your route. It combines data from three sources: • Numerical weather models (HRRR, GFS, ECMWF) — atmospheric indices like CAPE, K-Index, and Lifted Index sampled at multiple points along your route • Weather Prediction Center (WPC) — short-range and extended convective discussions • TAF convective phrases — thunderstorm codes (TS, TSRA, VCTS) and probability groups (PROB30/40) The section shows a threat level badge (Isolated, Scattered, or Widespread) and, in Enhanced View, gauge bars showing where each convective index falls within its range. If you don't see it: That means no significant convective activity was detected for your flight — which is a good thing!

PlaneWX uses horizon-scaled convective scoring. A thunderstorm forecast 36 hours before departure carries roughly 40% of the penalty it would carry 3 hours before departure. This is because convective forecasts become much more accurate as departure approaches. Before this system, a PROB40 thunderstorm in a TAF could cause 40-point score swings every few hours as WPC updates rolled in. With horizon scaling, your score is more stable for distant flights and reflects the actual risk at departure time. As your flight approaches and convective forecasts become more certain, the full penalty applies. See WX Score Explained in the Help section for details.

The ceiling and visibility values in Enhanced View are independently color-coded using standard aviation flight categories: • Green — VFR (ceiling ≥3,000 ft / visibility ≥5 SM) • Blue — MVFR (ceiling 1,000–3,000 ft / visibility 3–5 SM) • Red — IFR (ceiling 500–1,000 ft / visibility 1–3 SM) • Magenta — LIFR (ceiling <500 ft / visibility <1 SM) "CLR" means clear skies (no ceiling) and "10+" means unrestricted visibility — both displayed in green. Values reflect the worst-case forecast from TAF periods covering your departure or arrival window. Current METAR conditions may differ from the TAF worst-case shown in the grid.

In Enhanced View, every weather section includes a "Derived from..." attribution line showing exactly which data sources and models were used for that section's analysis. For example: • Ceilings: "Derived from METAR observations, TAF forecasts, and HRRR + GFS + ECMWF en-route cloud analysis" • Turbulence: "Derived from HRRR + GFS + ECMWF wind-shear and Richardson number analysis at FL115" • Icing: "Derived from multi-model freezing level, relative humidity, and temperature profiles" This transparency helps you understand the basis of each assessment and judge its reliability.