Whether you are calling 1-800-WXBRIEF or getting a personalized briefing through many of the common flight planning apps, the briefing process is very rigid and largely single threaded. That is, the weather provided to the pilot in command is strictly based on a known set of initial conditions from the flight plan that specifically...
Month: July 2018
What the hail? They are messing with the METAR code!
One of my pet peeves has always been the reporting of hail in a routine surface observation (METAR) or special observation (SPECI). If you look at the Federal Meteorological Handbook it provides two codes for hail, GS and GR. GS was reserved for small hail and snow pellets. Following a safety risk assessment, the...
Release notes for WeatherSpork version 4.4.1
Fixed an issue when the route did not match with airport selected. Added the app’s build number in About view. Added a question mark within an icon if weather is not available for a particular station. Removed NAM most unstable lifted index from Imagery view due to stale source data. Changed Imagery to use...
Why you might get mid-morning bumps
Every once in a while you will see a pilot weather report of moderate or even severe turbulence one to two thousand feet above the ground with no obvious explanation of why. It’s in the mid-morning hours, the winds aloft are not all that remarkable, there are no mountains or convection nearby and not...
Using WeatherSpork to find that perfect time to depart
It’s the mid afternoon on Friday and you are planning to depart Bentonville, Arkansas (KVBT) sometime tomorrow (Saturday) headed to Panama City, Florida (KECP) to spend a week at the beach. You have the flexibility to leave anytime tomorrow, but most importantly, you want to minimize your exposure to adverse weather. Watch the 30...
Expanded airport database, METARs and more with WeatherSpork release 4.4.0
WeatherSpork release 4.4.0 is now available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store! Here are some of the new features and enhancements you’ll find in this release. Keep those referrals going! First, thanks a bunch to those Sporkies that are spreading the word about the WeatherSpork app to their fellow pilots. We’ve...
WeatherSpork’s station list has expanded plus METARs!
With the release of WeatherSpork version 4.4.0, you can enter any public-use airport as a waypoint on the route. That includes your departure and destination airports. Be sure to use the four-character ICAO identifier. For example, if you are departing out of Wilgrove Air Park in Charlotte, North Carolina (8A6), be sure to include...
Release notes for WeatherSpork version 4.4.0
Improved the display of submenu selections within the Imagery view when running the application within a browser. Added METARs to Map view. Expanded the number of stations that can be used as departure, destination and route waypoints. Fixed a few Android display issues for Imagery view. ETD Finder can now be pinned to the...
A preview of WeatherSpork version 4.4.0…
As we’re putting the finishing touches on WeatherSpork version 4.4.0 here’s a 5 minute video preview of several new features that will be part of this release. If you haven’t done so already, please take a minute subscribe to our YouTube channel (http://youtube.com/weatherspork) as we release new WeatherSpork videos. “Most pilots are weatherwise, but...
June 2018 SporkNews
If you are new to WeatherSpork, welcome to the family! We hope you are finding the app to be useful to find the most opportune time to depart. The month of June meant taking in many suggestions from our customers and adding more under-the-hood foundation to the app. So, there hasn’t been much in...