Do you subscribe to Windy.com Premium subscription? Do you find it beneficial for trip planning?

[Lndwarrior]

Trying to decide of Windy premium is worth me spending $19.

I understand its subjective but even after reading the added benefits I'm still not sure how they may apply to flight planning, if at all.

If you use it and get some benefit from the premium subscription I would like to know what the benefits are.

I use the base program quite a bit for local weather info but it's not really part of my flight planning, other than a look ahead for a few days.

TIA

 

[Randomskylane]

I use it more than the others. It seems to have everything, if I mess with it long enough.

I even found wave heights after getting into an argument with a big boating guy

Have you tried aero weather? Gives instant metars for the entire trip in a second. Save the trip and the info is always there

My radar has an aviation tier

 

[MooneyDriver78]

It’s my primary source, I like having the multiple models, cloud forecasts, radar, etc, all in one app.

 

[Initial Fix]

I was an early adopter of Windy. I use it far more than official sources as it’s much easier to use and provides more useful info with a much better user interface. The premium opens longer outlook forecasts and more

 

[OKDonn]

I was an early adopter of Windy. I use it far more than official sources as it’s much easier to use and provides more useful info with a much better user interface. The premium opens longer outlook forecasts and more

I have used it for years as well, and find it valuable both for planning a trip a week in advance and for "day of" planning. I find the visuals of the wind at different altitudes much easier to use than a list of metars along the route. I subscribe both for the greater detail and because it has value for me and I want it to be around next time I need it.

 

[dcat127]

I pay for the premium version, and I like it. I probably use it more for longer range planning than what official sources have available. I find the distance and planning tool to be helpful as it gives a nice vertical view of clouds along the flight path. I believe that is only available in the paid version.

 

[Feh]

Yeah I paid for it when I saw what I could do with it. The forecast models, the sounding models, the little thunderstorm/lightning animations, viewing live cameras, METARs, worth it paying the $1.5/month.

 

[NoHeat]

I love Windy. It’s just brilliant. Started using it when it was called windty. It keeps getting more and more awesome. I do pay for Premium, when that became available, but I’ve forgotten exactly what I get for that

 

[Baked Potato]

it gives a nice vertical view of clouds along the flight path

Really? How do you see this?

 

[Eldorado]

I use some free long range forecast sites, but it really comes down to prog charts, TAF’s, and MOS obtained thru ForeFlight. If that is not obviously a go, then I am not going to dig deeper trying to convince myself I can make the flight. Weather is what you get, no site is perfect, but I hang my hat on the above. Some feel you can’t get too much information, I prefer to stick with the above, see if the weather is better or worse than forecast, then adjust. Changing takeoff +/- 12 hrs, postponing/canceling, precautionary landings are all part of part 91 flying.

 

[NoHeat]

Really? How do you see this?

First, create a route:
Touch the screen and move the map to place the crosshairs on your departure waypoint. Then select Distance & planning in top banner, move the map to add the next waypoint.

Second, select VFR for the view:
Select this in the bottom menu, instead of IFR or Airgram. This will yield a meteogram along the route.

 

[Gilbert Buettner]

I find the visuals of the wind at different altitudes much easier to use than a list of metars along the route.

Well, METARs don't give winds aloft, just surface winds.

 

[Ventucky Red]

Use it a lot for sailing.. never thought to use it for flying... Ill check this out.

 

[Papa Pilot]

Yes. Lots of value for the money.

 

[rockwoodrv9a]

I bought the premium last night and was up too late checking it out. After a few hours of testing it, to me it is well worth the small cost. It is reasonably easy to learn so that is a plus.

 

[MooneyDriver78]

Use it a lot for sailing.. never thought to use it for flying... Ill check this out.

Here’s a couple of nice features you might like, comparing forecast models and weather along a route:

 

[OC59]

I use Windy premium for all trip planning (west coast GA), even just a short sight-seeing flight for the next day. With longer trips, I start 10 days out. The graphical interface tell me pretty quickly whether I'm likely to have weather issues and what kind. The interface is really slick. With a few clicks I can see forecasts of icing levels, cloud bases, winds over the mountains, daytime temps and a dozen other things. The meteogram shows me what altitudes I'll find clouds along the route. Then I follow up as the target date gets closer. I'm using it right now to plan a trip from the SF Bay Area to the San Juans, where it looks like we might get some rain on Friday. They recently added a 48 hour high resolution model that I'll also check, especially for the coastal marine layer. I rarely even bother with the official .gov site.

 

[Groundpounder]

I use it all the time. For $20/year, its kind of a no brainer. That is a nickle a day.