Simple Xwind vs Virtual PAPI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simple Xwind
Quickly calculate crosswind and tailwind limits during flight. This app provides fast, precise calculations without clutter or unnecessary graphics, designed for immediate use when conditions change unexpectedly.
- Quick crosswind calculations
- Precise tailwind limits
- Fast and reliable
- Simple, clutter-free interface
- Designed for speed
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You're on short final when the tower provides updated winds. The conditions have changed more than expected, and there’s no time for mental math to determine if you're within crosswind and tailwind limits. Xwind gives you quick and precise calculations when you need them most. No clutter, no unnecessary graphics—just a fast, reliable crosswind calculator built for ease of use. Unlike other bulky apps, Xwind is designed for speed and simplicity, so you can get the data you need instantly. No extra clicks, no distractions—just numbers.
Virtual PAPI
This app offers adjustable visual descent guidance for any runway, allowing pilots to select airports and runways, then customize descent angles and aiming points. It provides accurate vertical guidance for various approach types and works offline with an extensive runway database.
- Adjustable visual descent guidance
- Select airport and runway
- Customize descent angle and aiming point
- Accurate vertical guidance
- Works offline
- 30,000+ runway database
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Pilots love runways with visual descent guidance, such as PAPI or VASI, but unfortunately they don't exist everywhere. This app provides an adjustable visual descent guidance for every runway on the planet. The pilot can select an airport, a runway, adjust the desired descent angle and the aiming point, then Virtual PAPI will create a glide slope indicator style. The glide slope will provide accurate vertical guidance to the aiming point from any direction, 360 degrees, providing a valuable guidance for any type of approach, like base entries, short approaches, straight-ins, etc. The app comes with over 30 thousand runways in its offline database, and more will be added as they are discovered. The app works completely offline and never tries to use the internet. All it needs is access to your location. Virtual PAPI is and free and open source, with all the code available on GitHub.
Screenshots
Verdict
Simple Xwind and Virtual PAPI both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Virtual PAPI's written reviews are positive against 67% of Simple Xwind's. Simple Xwind's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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 the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Simple Xwind against 5.0 for Virtual PAPI. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Simple Xwind's written reviews are positive against 100% of Virtual PAPI's.
| Parameter | Simple Xwind | Virtual PAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | — | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alex Deutz | Marlon Dutra |
Customer experience
Simple Xwind
Virtual PAPI
In-app purchases
Simple Xwind
No in-app purchases
Virtual PAPI
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Simple Xwind free?
Is Virtual PAPI free?
Which has better reviews, Simple Xwind or Virtual PAPI?
Do Simple Xwind or Virtual PAPI have ads?
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