On Station vs Wind & Runways
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
On Station
This aviation toolbox offers essential tools for pilots, including a visual crosswind calculator, multi-timezone clock, and a mission status tracker. It also features a checklist builder, flight timeline manager, and unit converter to streamline aviation tasks.
- Visual crosswind calculator
- Multi-timezone clock
- Mission status tracker
- Interactive checklist builder
- Flight timeline management
- Unit converter
Read full descriptionHide full description
On Station is an aviation toolbox packed with indispensable tools: - Visual crosswind calculator: Input your runway heading, reported wind direction & velocity, and see your wind components in real-time. - Multi-Timezone Clock: This is must-have tool to plan just about anything across multiple timezones (flights, meetings, phone calls, etc). - Mission Command: Digital mission and fleet status tracker with server sync capability. - Checklist Builder: Create and deploy your own interactive checklist. - Flight Timeline: Build and manage your flight timeline in real time. - Unit converter: Convert common units in both directions. We couldn't have made it any simpler. - ... and more. Follow us on Instagram --> https://www.instagram.com/onstationapps Note: This application is intended to be a supplemental tool only. Become familiar with it before taking it up and don't let it become a distraction. Fly the aircraft and stay safe!
Wind & Runways
This app provides pilots with essential preflight information, including wind components, runway diagrams, and weather data for over 76,000 airports worldwide. It helps pilots assess conditions at both major and smaller, non-towered fields, and includes NOTAMs for operational awareness.
- Wind component calculations for runways
- Visual runway diagrams with surface type
- METAR, TAF, and NOTAM data integration
- Map view with radar and airspace layers
- Flight route creation and navigation log
- Support for over 76,000 airports worldwide
- Live observation age updates
Read full descriptionHide full description
Wind & Runways helps pilots quickly understand how the current wind lines up with the runway. It brings together METARs, runway data, TAF-based wind trends, NOTAMs, airport details, radar coverage, airspace information, and route planning in a simple view built around the decisions pilots actually make. For pilots using Stratux, Wind & Runways can also connect directly to compatible Linux-based Stratux ADS-B hardware to provide live traffic information along with cockpit instruments including an artificial horizon and compass with an adjustable heading bug. For each airport, the app calculates headwind, tailwind, and crosswind components for every runway end using the latest available weather. A visual runway diagram makes it easy to see the wind direction at a glance, and the app can suggest the best runway based on the strongest headwind component. When the wind is calm or mostly direct crosswind, it says that clearly instead of forcing a recommendation. Runway diagrams show paved runways in gray and turf or grass runways in green, making surface type easy to spot. Helipads are displayed separately with an H symbol and wind indication. The map view helps you understand the bigger picture around your route or local flying area. You can view nearby METAR stations, see where current observations are available, check radar coverage, display rendered airspace, and turn on a TFR layer directly on the map. You can also create, edit, and save flight routes by adding airports, stations, or fixes, then view a basic navigation log with leg distances and route details. This makes it easier to compare conditions across airports, spot nearby reporting stations, identify active flight restrictions, and keep weather, airspace, and route-planning awareness in one place. Wind & Runways is not limited to airports with their own weather stations. I built it specifically so pilots could check conditions at the little grass strips, private fields, and non-towered airports around them — not just the larger airports with METARs. If an airport does not report its own weather, the app finds a nearby reporting station and clearly shows where the weather is coming from, including the distance to that station. Weather data comes from NOAA’s Aviation Weather Center. Airport cards show wind, gusts, altimeter, temperature, visibility, ceiling layers, present weather, and flight category. Observation age updates live so you can quickly tell how fresh the report is. The Wind tab uses TAF data to show how wind is expected to change over the next several hours, helping you plan for a later departure or arrival. Wind & Runways includes airport and runway information for more than 76,000 airports worldwide using the OurAirports database, including many smaller strips and private fields. Name, elevation, runway data, and surface information are available even for many airports that do not report their own weather. The NOTAMs tab pulls active FAA Notices to Air Missions so you can check for runway closures, TFRs, equipment outages, and other operational items without leaving the app. You can save favorite airports, reorder them, and sync them across devices with Apple or Google sign-in. You can also use the app without an account. Recently loaded METAR, TAF, and NOTAM data remains available offline, with stale data clearly marked. Unit preferences are supported for wind speed, temperature, altimeter, and elevation. Wind & Runways is built by a pilot, for pilots — with a fast, cockpit-friendly layout focused on runway wind, airport weather, traffic awareness, airspace, route planning, and the information you want close at hand before and during a flight. Free to download. Sign in to sync favorites, or use it anonymously.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: On Station at 4.7 against Wind & Runways's 4.0. On Station also leads on ratings volume (43 vs 2). Wind & Runways's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On Station holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: On Station has 43 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
On Station ships an update every 2 weeks, Wind & Runways every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | On Station | Wind & Runways |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (43 ratings) — better | 4.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 81.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 43 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 86 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | On Station LLC | Jeff Cardillo |
Customer experience
On Station
Wind & Runways
In-app purchases
On Station
No in-app purchases
Wind & Runways
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is On Station free?
Is Wind & Runways free?
Which has better reviews, On Station or Wind & Runways?
Do On Station or Wind & Runways have ads?
Which is updated more often, On Station or Wind & Runways?
Other comparisons















