Comparison

FlyWeatherMETAR vs Flying Upwind

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

FlyWeatherMETAR

Features
Read full description

FlyWeatherMETAR puts real-time aviation weather in your pocket. Built for pilots, students, and aviation enthusiasts, it turns raw METAR and TAF data into a clean, at-a-glance briefing — and answers what the codes never do: is this within MY minimums? FLIGHT WEATHER, INSTANTLY Enter one ICAO code or several at once for an immediate flight-category read: VFR, MVFR, IFR, or LIFR, color-coded for a quick decision. Wind, visibility, temperature, altimeter, and cloud layers are laid out clearly, with the report timestamp so you know how current the data is. A trend marker shows whether conditions are improving, deteriorating, or steady, and remarks are decoded into plain language with hazards flagged. YOUR MINIMUMS, NOT JUST THE CATEGORY Define your own limits — visibility, ceiling, wind, gust, crosswind, tailwind, temperature, density altitude — as named profiles. Every airport you check is judged against the profile you're flying today and returns a plain go, caution, or no-go verdict, naming the limiting factor. PLAN THE WHOLE FLIGHT Build a briefing with a departure, a destination, and three alternates — takeoff, enroute, and destination — each with live conditions side by side. See the weather along the corridor between your airports as a green-to-red picture with the worst stretch marked, and read the forecast as a decoded TAF timeline instead of a wall of code. DIVERT OPTIONS WHEN PLANS CHANGE Nearby airports are ranked by how usable they are right now — your minimums verdict or flight category first, then distance — with bearing on every row. One tap routes you there and updates your briefing. SEE IT ON THE MAP Plot conditions instead of reading them: station markers colored by flight category, wind, and ceiling/visibility shading, each toggled on its own. Tap any station for its details. AIRPORT DETAILS AT A GLANCE ICAO, IATA, and FAA identifiers, field elevation, magnetic declination, tower and beacon status, and public/private use. A runway diagram shows every heading against the current wind and recommends the best runway, so crosswind and headwind components are obvious at a glance. Digital ATIS where published, plus a sunrise/sunset arc. FAVORITES, BUILT FOR HOW YOU FLY Save the airports you check most and see their flight category live on one dashboard. Set a home airport for one-tap access and tag airports by the role they play in your flight. Recently viewed airports stay readable offline, clearly marked as potentially stale. STAY AHEAD OF CHANGING CONDITIONS Turn on notifications for your home airport at a frequency that fits your flying, from hourly to once a day. Add alerts that fire on the conditions you care about, and get told when the forecast diverges from what was predicted. Home-screen widgets keep your favorites in view without opening the app. WHY PILOTS USE FLYWEATHERMETAR - Clean, color-coded flight categories (VFR/MVFR/IFR/LIFR) - Full METAR breakdown plus decoded TAF forecasts and remarks - Personal minimums profiles with go / caution / no-go verdicts - Flight briefings with a destination and three alternates - Route weather and nearby divert options, ranked by usability - Interactive weather map with toggleable layers - Runway/wind diagram with a recommended runway - Unlimited favorites with a home base, live badges, and widgets - Built-in Learn section with a METAR/TAF decode key - Fast, minimal interface designed for quick pre-flight checks FlyWeatherMETAR is powered by the Aviation Weather Center (aviationweather.gov / NOAA NWS), with airport data from OurAirports and Digital ATIS from atis.info. It is a reference tool, informational only, is not affiliated with any official aviation authority, and is not a substitute for an official weather briefing or your primary flight-planning source. Always consult approved sources such as your national aviation weather service before making any flight decisions. Download FlyWeatherMETAR and see airport weather the way pilots need it.

About

Flying Upwind

This tool provides essential weather data for general aviation pilots, including winds aloft, airport conditions, and hazard information. Visualize wind profiles in 3D and access NWS forecasts and alerts for safe flight planning.

Highlights
  • Winds aloft visualization (3D ribbon/particle)
  • Decoded METARs and TAFs with flight category coding
  • Hazard maps (TFRs, SIGMETs, AIRMETs, NOTAMs)
  • NEXRAD radar and wind map overlays
  • NWS area forecast discussions and alerts
  • Works on phone, tablet, and desktop
Features
Read full description

Flying Upwind is a free weather briefing tool built for general aviation pilots. Get the weather data you need for flight planning — all in one place, at a glance. WINDS ALOFT Hourly wind speed, direction, and temperature at every altitude from surface to FL140+. Visualize wind profiles with interactive 3D ribbon and particle views. AIRPORT BRIEFING Decoded METARs and TAFs for nearby airports with flight category color coding (VFR/MVFR/IFR/LIFR). See current conditions and forecast timelines at a glance. HAZARD AWARENESS Active TFRs, SIGMETs, AIRMETs, and NOTAMs plotted on an interactive tactical map with NEXRAD radar and Windy wind overlay. NWS FORECASTS Local NWS area forecast discussions, hourly forecasts, and weather alerts for your location. FEATURES Winds aloft from surface to FL180+ with hourly resolution 3D wind visualization (ribbon and particle modes) Decoded METAR current conditions cards Decoded TAF forecast timeline with flight category coding NEXRAD radar and Windy wind map overlays TFR map with details and fly-to navigation SIGMET and AIRMET hazard polygons Filtered NOTAMs per airport NWS area forecast discussions Works on phone, tablet, and desktop No account required, completely free

Screenshots

FlyWeatherMETAR4 screens
Flying Upwind4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: FlyWeatherMETAR at every 4 days against Flying Upwind's every 8 days. Flying Upwind's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FlyWeatherMETAR ships an update every 4 days, Flying Upwind every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
FlyWeatherMETAR versus Flying Upwind: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlyWeatherMETARFlying Upwind
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFabio Augusto De CarvalhoJosh Perry

In-app purchases

None

FlyWeatherMETAR

No in-app purchases

None

Flying Upwind

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FlyWeatherMETAR free?
FlyWeatherMETAR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Flying Upwind free?
Flying Upwind is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do FlyWeatherMETAR or Flying Upwind have ads?
Neither FlyWeatherMETAR nor Flying Upwind shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FlyWeatherMETAR or Flying Upwind?
FlyWeatherMETAR ships an update every 4 days, and Flying Upwind every 8 days. Most recently, FlyWeatherMETAR was updated on October 27, 2026 and Flying Upwind on November 9, 2026.

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