Version 2.0 of wx24Pilot expands the app to include verifiable weather information from dozens of additional sites within a 150-mile boundary of the direct line of flight and at destinations on single page depictions that can be read in seconds.
wx24Pilot provides information from TAFS, METARS, Airmets/Sigmets and TFRs combined with the boundaries individual pilots place on themselves in easy-to-read graphics, according to company officials.
“Weather information is available from a lot of other aviation websites, apps or avionics systems,” said Paxton Calvanese, the app’s developer. “But we recognized that pilots need information quickly to make ‘Go/No Go’ decisions, so we made it a priority for wx24Pilot to be visually-based and present the data clearly, so that it can be read and interpreted in seconds.”
“For example, a 1,000 mile flight at 180 knots takes about six hours and the valuable information is in the forecast at the estimated time of arrival (ETA),” he continued. “That’s also why the personal minimums and warnings are crucial; pilots can set up to 18 different personal parameters that are important to them — ceiling, visibility and wind conditions that make them uncomfortable, the presence of thunderstorms in the area, areas where the ‘no-go’ decision is a ‘no.’ Nothing else matters.
Warnings, where the flight will be made but the pilots are advised of conditions important to them, are depicted in gray. With the latest updates, pilots can check a very large enroute area against the most accurate weather forecast product available for personal minimums and warnings in a matter of seconds and then drill down for more information,” he explained.
wx24Pilot, introduced in March, presents METARS, TAFS, Airmet, Sigmets and TFRs on one screen— and adds personal minimums onto that screen, too.
What sets wx24Pilot apart from other apps is its straight-forward graphical presentation, according to company officials.
“For pilots, it’s tedious to convert Zulu to local time zones and daylight savings times and then figure out ETAs and TAFs — only to do it all over again in a few hours when new reports are issued. wx24pilot presents a totally new way to get this information and it’s much easier to interpret,” Calvanese explained.
“With the app’s introduction and rapid growth in utilization, we’ve received valuable data which have contributed to this latest update,” he added. “We will continue to evaluate input and will explore additional platforms and features.”
wx24Pilot is available for iPhone and iPad. Annual subscriptions can be purchased for $15.99 or it can be purchased in six month or one month installments for $8.99 or $2.99 respectively.