# Cloud Topper — user reviews > 26 indexed App Store user reviews of Cloud Topper by Crop Applications, LLC., rated 2.70/5 from 7 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cloud-topper/id563015359/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cloud-topper/id563015359.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 3 · 4★ 0 · 3★ 0 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 4 ## Newest reviews (7 of 26) ### 5/5 — Cloud topper *2012-10-23, version 1.0* A long time combing! ### 5/5 — Innovative! *2012-10-21* Wish this came out out in 1970 when I started flying. A much needed update to my old "water bottle" technique. May have kept me from being struck by lightning in December of 2002! ### 5/5 — Great app *2012-10-11, version 1.0* Great tool and fun to use. ### 5/5 — Love this app!!! *2012-10-11, version 1.0* So cool. Really neat app!! ### 5/5 — It works! *2012-10-11* What a great tool for the flight deck; ANY flight deck, from a 172 to a 747. For less than a buck? Why WOULDN'T you have this tool at your disposal?! ### 5/5 — I love this app! *2012-10-11* So cool! This app makes me feel like a real pilot using the same tools inflight! ### 5/5 — Great addition to any flight bag! *2012-10-10* Does just what is says and then some! Been looking for an app like this for quite some time and its finally here! Thanks for the great addition to the App Store. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Useless *2021-08-26* I haven’t found this useful at all. No clear instructions on how to calibrate or where to put the lines. **Developer response:** Hello J N C C, You can go to our help page at http://www.cropapplications.com/CloudTopper/help.htm for instructions to use the app. Please email us with any questions you have and we will get back to you right away. Happy Flying! ### 1/5 — Wasted 99 cents. *2020-09-07* This app is difficult to close. Locked up my I pad during flight. Had to reboot and bring ForeFlight back up. Not a good problem to try to solve while in flight. Had to hand my iPad to passenger to solve the problem. I should have practiced first and I would have know not to use this app while in flight. **Developer response:** Hello Old Rancher Dude, The older versions of Cloud Topper only has support for landscape orientation. This could make the app confusing to close if you were holding the device in the portrait orientation. Our newest release has support for all orientations. To close the app, simply swipe up from the bottom of the screen like you would with other iOS apps. Hops that helps. ### 1/5 — Awful *2019-03-23* I deleted it immediately, and wish I could get my money back. Two big problems: 1) once the app is opened and you grant camera access, you can’t swipe up and kill it or switch apps. I had to force reboot my phone to get back to the app switcher. 2) it requires you to know the distance to the cloud you’re measuring “using RADAR”. Like I have that?! **Developer response:** Hello TXPilot69, 1) The app is oriented in landscape mode so you have to swipe up from the bottom when in landscape (you could also swipe from the left side, on the white bar, if holding your phone normally). This is the case for any app that is landscape orientated. The reason for the orientation is that the app uses you phones angle to work correct. If you continue to have issues with the app, I suggest emailing us and we will fix the issue. If we can’t fix the issue we’d be happy to send you a full refund of 99 cents. 2) If you don’t have weather radar, you can make an estimate of your distance to the cloud. You can also use the angle to determine if you are above or below the cloud. I suggest you get an app like ForeFlight and an ADS-B receiver to display weather radar. If you are in an airplane that doesn’t have an onboard weather radar, I’d suggest not trying to fly over the top of any convective activity. If you have another suggestion of how to determine the distance to a cloud through an app, we’d love to hear it. ### 1/5 — Not accurate *2018-09-18* Not very accurate. A small error in angle is a quite large when looking at a cloud which is miles away. This app consistently indicates I will fly into a cloud when in reality I clear it by seventy hundred feet. **Developer response:** Thank you for your review. At larger distances it’s more accurate to use the angle vs cloud height. A very small change in angle will change cloud height considerably. This is true for a physical sight level or even a laser levels that are used for precise measurements. Cloud Topper is a great tool for a quick estimation and cloud height will be more accurate the closer you are to the cloud. ### 1/5 — Doesn't work *2015-06-13* Camera functions work, but you can't enter distance to get height. 99 cents down the drain. Worthless don't buy. **Developer response:** We haven't had any reports of users not being able to enter the distance to get the height. We have instructions at http://www.cropapplications.com/CloudTopper/help.htm If you are still having problems please contact us and we will solve your problem. ### 2/5 — Basically a great idea... *2024-07-30* because it's difficult to estimate if high enough to get over the clouds at altitude. Of course you can't use this app for measurement. But for any reason not even bearing really works. It's hard to find exactly 0 degrees but even then the app seem not to show straight level ahead. Maybe some improvement and more testing, then it could be a really helper. ### 3/5 — Useful, Not Perfect *2016-10-25* Works well as a better refined guesstimator than the naked eye. It would be great if the artificial horizon had an option to always display at 0* and move on the screen relative to the phones actual angle... would be great for measuring in light chop. ### 3/5 — Limited Orientation *2013-02-15* This app only works in landscape with the power input on the right. I find this annoying. It is also unclear how to use the miles function and there is no help function. Nice first try, but needs more refinement. ### 3/5 — Needs a calibration feature *2013-02-12* Apparently my iPad's sensors don't exactly match my camera's centerline resulting in this app being a little off. I wish there was a way I could "zero" the app at a true level. **Developer response:** A calibration feature was added in future updates. I hope you are enjoying the app. ### 5/5 — Great, simple tool *2022-12-15* I use this app weekly to determine tops of cells and required altitude to clear a buildup or cloud bank. It does require correlation between radar/stormscope info for best accuracy. NEXRAD works in a pinch. ## Most praised reviews (9 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — TCAS Tested *2013-09-30, version 1.1* It works as advertised. I checked it against TCAS traffic and the altitude was spot on. ### 5/5 — Useful *2013-07-29* Great little tool. Lots of other uses too ### 5/5 — Miles *2013-04-07* Like cloud topper but how would one know the miles to the cloud? ### 5/5 — Great! Way better than the sight glass we used on the tall ships. *2013-01-30* Adds another method of ensuring weather avoidance. Also just plain fun! ### 5/5 — Crack *2013-01-19* This app changed my life. Before cloud topper, I was not able to top clouds. I was an old fashioned crack in the seat. Now I look like I know what I'm doing. Thanks Cloud Topper!! ### 5/5 — Shweeet! *2013-01-13* Throw those water bottles in the recycling bin.....this app is the way to go to clear those cloud tops! ### 5/5 — Great App! *2013-01-02* This app is awesome! Sure beats using the water bottle! Definitely worth a buck. Buy it! ### 5/5 — Brilliant! *2012-12-20* This app lives at the intersection of fun and useful. Great for passing time on cross countries. I recommend it to all my pilot buddies. ### 5/5 — Very helpful *2012-10-25* I am an aspiring pilot, and this app gives me great insight into how to avoid severe weather while flying. I'm excited to use this in the air! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-07.*