# SkyBrief - Preflight Tool

> Preflight weather, route planning, and aircraft performance tool for pilots. (iPhone/iPad app by Rohith Velmurugan.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skybrief-preflight-tool/id6759185180 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Rohith Velmurugan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1877266248)
- Category: Weather, Navigation
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.50/5 from 16 App Store ratings · 4 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 16.4 · 85 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-02-16
- Data updated: 2026-08-26
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skybrief-preflight-tool/id6759185180/reviews.md

## What is SkyBrief?

SkyBrief — Preflight Weather Briefings for Pilots

Honest, complete weather briefings you can trust before every flight. SkyBrief turns raw METAR, TAF, TFR and NOTAM data into a clear go/no-go picture — with no invented values and no guesswork. When a data source is unavailable, SkyBrief tells you plainly instead of filling the gap with made-up numbers.

FREE
• Live METAR & TAF for any U.S. airport, decoded into plain language
• Automatic VFR / MVFR / IFR / LIFR flight category and a go/no-go read
• NOTAM digest — active notices grouped by type, closures and restrictions first
• Nearby stations, airport directory, and a 24-hour conditions trend
• Weight & balance calculator with CG envelope
• Flight logbook, currency tracker, and custom checklists
• Home Screen widget — your home airport's conditions at a glance
• Shareable briefing cards

PRO
• AI-powered plain-language briefings, with voice read-aloud
• Route briefings with real FAA TFRs and true terrain profiles
• Winds-aloft nav log and a best-altitude optimizer (compare time & fuel by altitude)
• Live radar & satellite overlay on your route
• Personal-minimums monitoring with optional push alerts
• Kneeboard flight mode, W&B what-if scenarios, and PDF briefing export
• Cloud-synced briefing history

BUILT ON HONEST DATA
Your decisions deserve honest inputs. SkyBrief shows real observations and forecasts from aviationweather.gov and the FAA — and is transparent whenever data is missing or a scan can't complete.

ACCESSIBLE
Full in-app text-size scaling and high-contrast, readable text in every lighting and sky condition.

SkyBrief is a decision-support tool and is not a substitute for an official FAA weather briefing. Always obtain an official briefing before flight.

Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Privacy Policy: https://skybriefapp.com/privacy.html

SkyBrief Pro is an auto-renewable subscription. Monthly and annual plans are available with a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings.

## Key features

- Weather briefings with AI summaries
- Route planning with hazard highlighting
- Weight & balance calculations
- Personal minimums and alerts
- Flight risk assessment (FRAT)
- Regional weather charts and NOTAMs

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SkyBrief Pro Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| SkyBrief Pro (Annual) | $39.99 | per year |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SkyBrief Pro Monthly | $4.99 | one-time |
| SkyBrief Pro Annual | $39.99 | one-time |


## Chart rankings

- #138 in Top Grossing · Weather (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (4 of 4)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skybrief-preflight-tool/id6759185180/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Not accurate

*2026-08-01*

I downloaded and tried this app for about 14 hours. Its layout is clunky but not terrible and once you learn where things are… it’s kinda ok.  My biggest issue is I tried a flight plan to see if it would give me accurate weather.. it showed VFR and it’s actually storming outside with a ceiling at 1200’.  I had high hopes based on the other reviews but… it’s not with downloading much less $40 a year.

**Developer response:** Fair critique and it changed something on our end

METARs are issued hourly, so weather arriving at :20 past isn't in the data until the next report. We do pull SPECIs & Convective sigmets the moment a station files one, but not every field files them and either way we showed the observation's age far too quietly. Sadly we do not have the ability yet to receive minute by minute weather from specific areas so if AWC does not report it the app wont either until a SPECI/Convective sigmet is issued or the next observation takes into effect. 

What we added: past 45 minutes the app says "conditions may have changed" right beside the flight category, and flags when the next report is overdue. For fields without their own station, it now names which station the reading came from and how far away.

Layout note taken. Tell us which screens felt clunky and we'll use it.

### 3/5 — Needs bugs squashed

*2026-07-28*

Seems like a pretty good app and I see why it’s a subscription as there’s backend that needs to be paid for. But there is an issue with the custom settings not “sticking” and there is no “save” button on it. For example I put in my personal minimums and aircraft and when I come back in it’s defaulted to a different aircraft and my minimums are back to default as well.

**Developer response:** Hey there,

Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it! I have just pushed an update a few minutes ago that addresses the bugs you have pointed out, if it still isn’t working try hard closing the app twice and it should be fixed. There also is a button in the settings to report additions/bugs like this in the future!

Thank you!

### 3/5 — Comprehensive, yet still needs work.

*2026-07-21*

There’s no option to provide feedback the app. The font color choices are very hard to read, with white text on super light blue background. Switching to dark mode and there are some spots with dark blue text on black, same problem. There’s also no option to increase font size. It would be nice to have the option on making everything bigger and more contrast in color.  Looking forward to seeing this app improve. Glad we can use it without popup ads to pay, this is refreshing.

**Developer response:** Hey, thanks for the feedback! I’ve been working on an area to send feedback in the app and should be out with the next update. I’ll go ahead and see what I can do about the contrast and font size as well, I agree. I aim to make this app something different than everything else in aviation (cheap and easy to use)

Thanks!

### 5/5 — PIREP

*2026-02-19*

This app saved me over 30 minutes in preflighting I really recommend for student pilots and GA pilots

## Frequently asked questions about SkyBrief

### What is SkyBrief?

SkyBrief is a free preflight tool for general aviation pilots. It provides weather briefings, route planning, weight and balance calculations, and flight risk assessments to help ensure safe departures.

### Is SkyBrief free to use?

Yes, SkyBrief is completely free to use. It does not have any advertisements or in-app purchases, and it does not track user data.

### What kind of weather information does SkyBrief provide?

SkyBrief offers instant METAR and TAF data, flight category (VFR/MVFR/IFR/LIFR), wind components, cloud layers, visibility, and temperature. It also includes an AI-powered summary of conditions and a go/no-go recommendation.

### Can SkyBrief help with route planning?

Yes, SkyBrief allows you to enter departure, destination, and waypoints. It checks weather along your route, highlights hazards, and generates a NavLog with details like ground speeds, leg times, and fuel burn.

### Does SkyBrief support custom aircraft profiles?

Yes, SkyBrief supports multiple aircraft types and allows for custom profiles for your own airplane, including weight and balance calculations with a visual CG envelope plot.

### How does SkyBrief help pilots manage personal minimums?

You can set your personal minimums for ceiling, visibility, wind, and gusts within SkyBrief. The app then checks every briefing against these minimums and flags any violations with color-coded alerts.

### What devices is SkyBrief available on?

SkyBrief is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It also features a dark mode called "Midnight Cockpit" for night operations.

### How often is SkyBrief updated?

The latest version of SkyBrief is 1.1.0, which was last updated on February 28, 2026. The app is designed to pull data directly from aviationweather.gov and the National Weather Service.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.13.2 — 2026-08-19

Fixes and improvements:

• Fixed two stray items appearing in the navigation bar
• The app now checks for the latest improvements on launch, so new installs always start current
• Endorsement Advisor for flight instructors — describe the scenario, get every required endorsement grouped by training stage, backed by a plain-English library of all 96 current endorsements
• SkyBrief worldwide — 28,000+ airports and training content matched to your aviation authority (FAA, EASA, Transport Canada, CASA, CAA NZ)
• Offer codes — redeem member and promo codes right from the subscribe screen, or during setup

### 1.13.1 — 2026-08-18

• Endorsement Advisor for flight instructors — describe the scenario, get every required endorsement grouped by training stage, backed by a plain-English library of all 96 current endorsements
• SkyBrief goes worldwide — 28,000+ airports and training content matched to your aviation authority (FAA, EASA, Transport Canada, CASA, CAA NZ), with unit preferences to match
• Student Training Home — your training phase, hour-requirement progress, and the most useful thing to study next
• Fix My Weak Areas — every missed quiz question anywhere in the app lands in one drill deck until you've got it
• Document & currency reminders — medical, flight review, and knowledge-test windows
• Offer codes — redeem member and promo codes right from the subscribe screen, or during setup
• Plus faster briefings, clearer charts, and hundreds of fixes

### 1.9.1 — 2026-08-03

Five weeks of updates in one release — the biggest since launch.

PAY LESS FOR FLIGHT TRAINING (new)
• A full cost playbook: a scholarship database with deadlines, financing
  compared honestly, and the specific habits that cut what a certificate
  actually costs. Most students overpay by thousands and are never told how
  not to.

CHECKRIDE PREP (free)
• 938 practice questions and 616 flashcards across 8 tracks — Sport through
  ATP, including the post-MOSAIC sport rules
• Full mock written exams, timed and scored like the real thing
• Mastery tracking, so you drill what you keep missing instead of what you
  already know

FLY, AND IT LOGS ITSELF (WORK IN PROGRESS)
• Arm the tracker before takeoff and it records hands-off, then hands you a
  logbook draft with times, route and landings
• Track Replay: fly the route back with altitude, speed and ground track
• Private pilot progress against 61.109 — every requirement, what you have,
  what's left

TRAINING, EVERY DAY
• METAR of the Day, a daily scenario, and real accident case studies
• Radio Trainer: 20 scripted CTAF and towered scenarios
• Maneuver Cards: 14 Private ACS maneuvers with real C172S numbers
• Airspace quiz, hold entry visualizer, glide range planner, rusty pilot
  refresher, rental checkout packs

IN THE BRIEFING
• Vertical profile sounding, FAA weather cameras, taxi diagrams with hot
  spots for 907 airports, and a fuel stop advisor comparing 100LL prices
  along your route
• Flyable days this week, at a glance
• A layout you can rearrange — hold any card and drag it, like the home
  screen

FOR INSTRUCTORS AND FLIGHT SCHOOLS
• Rebuilt instructor dashboard: 28-lesson private syllabus, lesson plan
  builder, endorsements, Part 141 training records
• Flight schools: dispatch oversight, school operating minimums, a fleet
  registry tracking inspection currency, seats and member

ACCURACY
• Go/No-Go now respects your personal minimums instead of judging every
  flight against VFR numbers
• Navigation data refreshed, and dozens of fixes to numbers that matter
• A weather observation old enough to be wrong now says s
  of looking exactly as current as a fresh one
• Thunderstorm and icing advisories in force over your ai
  alerts — whether or not the hourly report has caught up

Fly safe out there.

### 1.4.0 — 2026-07-27

Your briefings just got a lot more honest — and a lot more capable.

• Real winds aloft: the nav log now uses actual FB forecast winds at your
  cruise altitude for groundspeed, time and fuel — not surface guesses
• Best-altitude optimizer: compare time and fuel from 3,000 to 12,000 ft and
  fly the fastest one
• Real terrain in the vertical profile: actual ridgelines between airports,
  with cruise-below-terrain warnings
• Real FAA TFRs along your route, with an honest warning any time the scan
  can't complete
• Weight & Balance meets your route: save a W&B, and your next briefing
  offers to use it — weight-adjusted cruise, fuel endurance and a
  45-minute reserve check
• Fixed vertical profile with real along-route distances, terrain
  warnings, cloud layers and winds
• Export a complete briefing packet as a PDF
• Bigger text + better contrast: a new Text Size setting scales the whole app,
  and on-screen text stays readable against every sky
• Send feedback right from Settings — we're listening
• NOTAMs, decoded: a clean, grouped digest of active NOTAMs — closures and
  restrictions first — right in your briefing
• Home Screen widget: your home airport's flight category, wind and ceiling
  at a glance (add it from the widget gallery)
• Dozens of accuracy fixes: no more invented weather values anywhere

Fly safe out there.

### 1.2.2 — 2026-07-13

• SkyBrief now asks for your permission before using device identifiers for ad measurement, in line with Apple's App Tracking Transparency
• Behind-the-scenes improvements and bug fixes

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*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 2026-08-26.*