WindCheck vs SkyQuantSD
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WindCheck
This application provides pilots with essential flight planning and navigation tools. It offers global weather data, airport information, and real-time traffic updates. Access runway diagrams, procedure charts, and a smart compass for enhanced situational awareness.
- Global METARs and TAFs
- TFRs and NOTAMs
- 3D Bird's Eye runway view
- Airport diagrams and charts
- VFR/IFR sectionals (US)
- Live ADS-B traffic
- Offline airport data
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WindCheck® is a user-friendly EFB for pilots across the world. ► METARs and TAFs for most airports across the world. ► TFRs, NOTAMs, for every airport in the world. ► AIRMETs, SIGMETs, CWAs, Fax Charts, with world coverage. ► 3D Bird's Eye view for every runway in the world. ► Airport diagrams and procedure charts for the US and South Africa. ► Runway/Taxiway closure and fuel limitation warnings. ► VFR and IFR sectionals for the U.S., always up to date. ► Webcams to assess local conditions across the world. ► Smart Compass with wind direction and nearby airports. ► World map with airports and their weather. ► Live internet ADS-B traffic on the map. ► Runway and radio frequency information for most airports across the world. ► Barometric backup altimeter. ► Scratch pad. ► Airport data for over 31,000 airports in the world, fully available offline. End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
SkyQuantSD
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SkyQuant SD is one live map of San Diego County. Every layer draws on that single map — there are no tabs to hunt through. SATELLITE AND RADAR • GOES-18 GeoColor imagery, cropped to the county and refreshed as new scans arrive. • Radar three ways: the MRMS national mosaic (observed), HRRR forecast reflectivity, and the KNKX single-site radar for a close, purely observed look at San Diego. You choose which one draws. • A six-hour-either-side timeline with playback. Drag the scrubber or press play to sweep the last six hours and the next six. Behind the current time you see observations; ahead of it only genuine forecasts draw, and the map labels that plainly instead of leaving a stale picture up. BEACHES AND WATER • Beach water quality from the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health: every monitored site as a colour-coded dot — open, advisory or closed. • Per-beach detail with a bacteria trend chart over 7 or 30 days, measured against the limit for the lab method that produced each sample. Culture and ddPCR results are about a thousandfold apart, so they are never mixed into one line or judged by one threshold. • River discharge, rainfall, water temperature and the north–south current as optional drivers on that same chart, each with its own labelled axis in its own colour. • Tijuana River plume forecasts and experimental pathogen-risk layers from UCSD/SCCOOS. These are research model output, not public-health guidance, and they carry the modelling group's own disclaimer in the app. ALERTS • National Weather Service watches, warnings and advisories filtered to San Diego County, with a count on the map bar and the full text one tap away. WILDLIFE RADAR • Birds, bats and insects appear in weather radar returns, and the wildlife mode colours them by taxon. Emergence rings show up around dusk and dawn roost exits, and confirmed roost sites are pinned with the evidence behind them. HOME BEACH NOTIFICATIONS • Pick a home beach and the app tells you when the county posts a new bacteria sample or changes that beach's status. Checks run while the app is open and during the background refreshes iOS allows — a few times a day, not in real time. The notifications are generated on your device: no push service, no account. PRIVACY • No accounts, no analytics, no advertising, no tracking, no third-party SDKs. Your settings stay on your device. REQUIREMENTS SkyQuant SD reads its data from its operator's Sky Quant server, which does the satellite, radar and water-quality processing. The address is built into the app, so there is nothing to set up — but a network connection is required, and the app cannot show data while that server is unreachable. The plume and pathogen layers are experimental research products. For swimming decisions, use the county's own beach postings — which this app also shows.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SkyQuantSD at none against WindCheck's 2. WindCheck's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence 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. WindCheck sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. SkyQuantSD asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WindCheck | SkyQuantSD |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (165 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 93.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 165 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 160 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LycheeApps Inc. | Kyle Schaller |
In-app purchases
WindCheck
- U.S. Pilot (monthly)7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- U.S. Pilot (annual)7 Days trial$49.991 Year
SkyQuantSD
No in-app purchases







