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 Convective SIGMETs you are still expected to encounter (flying-away corridor polygons are scaled down) • 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.

Usually you are looking at the same FAA icing family (DAFS IFI, and CIP when PlaneWX has a fresh nowcast) — not a different weather service. ForeFlight's VCS paints max conditional severity (ICSEV): how bad ice would be *if* it occurs in that column. PlaneWX asks a different question for *this* flight: severity × probability × your climb/cruise/descent path, CIP when fresh, and a cloud-top vs freezing-level physics check. If cloud tops are at or below the freezing level, there is no supercooled liquid water on the path, so hybrid icing can go to none even when the chart still shows a heavy glyph. When that happens, the icing narrative should acknowledge the cell and explain the gate — not imply ForeFlight missed the weather or that PlaneWX ignored the product. See Multi-Model Icing Analysis in Help for the full CIP/IFI hybrid, probability filter, and VCS cross-check.

Corridor search and scoring are separate. PlaneWX shows Convective SIGMETs that intersect the search corridor so you can see nearby convection. The WX Score uses time-aware encounter logic: storm motion, your ground track, tops, and how hard a lateral deviation looks. If you are departing away from the polygon, or you will miss it in time, the en-route deduction is reduced or omitted versus a sustained head-on encounter. The same storm is also not fully double-counted when it appears as both a SIGMET and a TAF thunderstorm group — the server convective ledger keeps one primary deduction for one event. Check the score breakdown line for motion, valid time, and deviation notes. Details: Convective Watch — Thunderstorm Scoring in Help.

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 (worldwide ICAO) • TAFs – Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (worldwide ICAO) • Regional Weather – Synthesized from NWS Area Forecast Discussions (US only) • GFS/NBM – Extended forecast models • ECMWF – European Centre medium-range model (used as primary model for non-US routes) • Model Consensus Winds – Geography-aware mix of regional hi-res models (HRRR, HRDPS, ICON-EU, ICON-D2, AROME where applicable) plus GFS and ECMWF upper-air winds for planning horizons from the current hour to 16 days • AIRMETs/SIGMETs/G-AIRMETs – US hazard advisories (graphical polygon data) • International SIGMETs – Worldwide severe weather advisories via NOAA's ISIGMET feed • CWAs – Center Weather Advisories • CPC/WPC – Extended outlooks and synoptic analysis (US only) US products (G-AIRMETs, WPC) are automatically suppressed when planning international routes so you never see empty or misleading sections.

Yes — PlaneWX supports international ICAO airports worldwide. Enter any four-letter ICAO code (EGLL, LFPG, MMMX, YSSY, etc.) as your departure or arrival. What works internationally: • METARs and TAFs (retrieved from NOAA's worldwide ICAO feed) • ECMWF model winds and extended forecasts (the world's most accurate medium-range model) • International SIGMETs for severe turbulence, icing, volcanic ash, and tropical cyclones • Regulatory context — when both airports are outside FAA jurisdiction, your briefing includes applicable rules (EASA, Transport Canada, ICAO Annex 2 VFR minima) • Runway condition code (RWYCC) parsing from METAR runway state groups • Tropical cyclone and orographic wind hazard detection (Föhn, Bora, Mistral, Chinook, etc.) • Worldwide navaid and GPS waypoint resolution What's not available internationally: • G-AIRMETs and WPC products (US only — automatically suppressed) • NOTAMs (in development for US; not yet available internationally) • WX Score validation calibrated for non-US airspace Always supplement with your national AIS, local NOTAMs, and an official met briefing when required by local regulations. See Flying Outside the US in the Help section for full details.

No — PlaneWX treats Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and all other US territories as US FAA jurisdiction. This means: • Alaska (PA- prefix airports like PANC, PAJN) → FAA rules, full US analysis • Hawaii (PH- prefix airports like PHNL, PHOG) → FAA rules, full US analysis • Puerto Rico (TJ/TI- prefix) → FAA rules • Guam & Pacific territories (PG/PW- prefix) → FAA rules You'll receive the same complete domestic analysis — G-AIRMETs, WPC, and FAA regulatory context — as any CONUS flight. The international regulatory context block (EASA/ICAO) only appears when both departure and arrival are outside FAA-administered airspace.

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.

If you're instrument-rated, the aircraft is IFR-certified, and the leg is VFR, PlaneWX may show a green X% if IFR* next to the VFR WX Score. That's the same weather scored under IFR minimums — not a second briefing. It only appears when IFR would raise the score by at least 20 points for ceiling, visibility, or IMC reasons. Ice, turbulence, and storms still count under IFR, so if those dominate you won't see the hint. Switch to IFR & re-brief changes the leg to IFR and promotes that number. PlaneWX does not flip you automatically, and it does not verify that you are instrument current. See Switch to IFR in Help for the full walkthrough.

By default, PlaneWX automatically calculates "Hours (Last 30 Days)" in your Pilot profile from flights it has ADS-B-confirmed you actually flew — the same "flown" status shown on your trip cards. It totals estimated duration (actual block time, then planned time en route, then a distance-based estimate) across every confirmed flown trip in the trailing 30 days, and re-syncs every time you visit your profile. Don't want it automated? Turn off "Auto-calculate from flights" next to the field to enter hours manually — PlaneWX will never touch a manually-entered value. While it's off, you can still click "Calculate from my flights flown" any time to pull in the current total as a one-time fill. This same calculation also pre-fills the "hours in this aircraft (last 30 days)" currency question when you start a new PAVE Risk Assessment, scoped to that trip's specific aircraft. See Pilot Profile in the Help section for details.

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.

Possibly, yes — if three or more pilots share your home airport, PlaneWX automatically creates a group for that airport and adds every matching pilot whose profile is visible, without asking first. This is intentional: it's what makes an airport's group actually useful from day one. To check: open the Groups tab on your dashboard — anything under "Your Groups" is a group you currently belong to. To leave: open the group and tap "Leave group." PlaneWX remembers you opted out, so you won't be re-added automatically. Event groups (like a fly-in) work the opposite way — you have to tap Join yourself. See Community Groups in the Help section for the full breakdown.

It depends which sharing feature you're using — and by default, no. • Public Profile: your public profile page shows no flights until you turn on Trip Sharing (off by default). Once on, anyone with your profile link — signed in or not — can see one featured trip. • Community Groups: if you're a member of an airport or event group, flights matching that airport/event are visible on the group's public flight board to anyone with the link, signed in or not. Your other flights stay private regardless. • My Crew: never public — only the specific people you add can see anything, and only what access level you grant them. If you want zero public exposure, keep Trip Sharing off, leave any Community Groups you're in, and don't join event groups. See Public Profile & Following and Community Groups in the Help section.

They're unrelated features that happen to share the word "follow." • Following a pilot is a social feature: you visit another pilot's public profile and tap Follow to see their upcoming public flights in your Friends feed. It's visible to that pilot (they can see their follower count) and entirely optional. • "Follow Me" is a personal setting under Profile → Notifications. When it's on, your own morning digest email uses your aircraft's current detected location instead of your home airport for regional weather. Nobody else can see this setting or benefit from it — it only affects your own email. See Public Profile & Following in the Help section for the full explanation.

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 Casual and 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: Departure milestones (T-6h, T-4h, T-2h, T-1h, T-30m, T-15m) • 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 (includes a PAVE nudge if you haven't completed it) • Post-Flight Feedback: A few hours after departure to help us improve • Referral rewards: When someone you invited subscribes, and again when your free-month credit is applied (account notices — see Referral Program) In Profile → Email Preferences you can control WX Score alerts and the master email switch. In-app PAVE reminders are controlled separately under risk assessment preferences. Referral reward notices are sent when a reward is scheduled or applied so you know credit landed on your account.

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 In-app PAVE reminders (not a separate email) can be toggled under your risk assessment preferences. 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 these sources: • Numerical weather models — regional hi-res plus GFS and ECMWF (for example HRRR, HRDPS, or ICON on your route) — atmospheric indices like CAPE, K-Index, and Lifted Index sampled at multiple points along your route • NBM thunderstorm chance — NOAA's National Blend of Models chance that storms actually fire at each point, at the time you would be there. Only inside 72 hours of departure can it ease the route thunderstorm line when the chance stays low; farther out the model haircut stays. Never adds points • Live MRMS radar — near-term corridor nowcast. Can reduce that same line when quieter than the models; a cell on the corridor keeps at least an isolated deduction • 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 multi-model en-route cloud analysis (regional hi-res + GFS + ECMWF by geography)" • Turbulence: "Derived from multi-model wind-shear and Richardson number analysis at your cruise altitude (models chosen for your route)" • 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.

Four plans for individual pilots: Free, Casual, Pro, and Pro Plus. Every plan uses the same briefing engine. Paid plans add monitoring, automation, and room for more flights — not a better WX Score. Free — 2 monitored flights, 2 saved flights, 15 refreshes per week. You refresh briefings yourself. Casual — 5 monitored, 10 saved, unlimited refreshes, auto-refresh, Fuel Advisor, email alerts, 4 watchers per flight. Pro — 10 monitored, 100 saved, Corridor Watch, Multi-City Optimizer, mentor browse, ground weather at the destination. Pro Plus — 25 monitored, 100 saved, plus Ground Protection, Auto-Brief, a pre-flight text, refresh anytime, contract fuel, and Labs. The full live comparison — and links to each feature — is on the Plans help page. Current prices are on the pricing page. New accounts start with a 14-day Pro Plus trial.

Yes. You can move up any time — Casual to Pro, Pro to Plus, monthly to annual, or the 2-year lock. Unused time on your current plan is credited first. You'll see the unused credit, the new charge, and what you'll pay today before we charge the card. You only pay the difference. Downgrades are not refunded mid-term. Finish the period or change at renewal.

Share your personal link from Profile → Invite Pilots. When a pilot who signs up with your link becomes a paying subscriber (Casual or Pro), you earn about a free month of PlaneWX. • Signup alone does not earn a reward — they need to subscribe • There's a 30-day holdback after they subscribe; then the credit is applied automatically • Paying referrers get a billing credit that reduces their next invoice; free-plan referrers get a 30-day access extension • No cap — every successful paid conversion earns another free month See the Referral Program help page for screenshots and full details.

After you land, Self Debrief is a structured look back — how you flew, what the weather actually did, and what to take into the next trip. It is a PlaneWX Labs feature on Pro Plus. It does not change your WX Score. Private notes never leave your account. Mentors, Trip Watchers, and your public profile never see them. A mentor or CFI sees the rest of the debrief only if you turn on Self-debrief access for that person in My Crew. Off by default. They cannot edit your answers. They do not need Pro Plus to read a debrief you granted. Start from the Self-Debrief chip on a past trip, Trip → Self-Debrief on the briefing, or Debrief This Flight on the existing review email. Full guide: Pilot Self Debrief in Help.