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Weathermeister

sirlegin

Well Known Member
Is weathermeister still a going concern?
What are your thoughts on the service. Good and bad.
From what I see it appears to be worth subscribing to.
Thanks
Nigel
RV9A Flying
 
I've used it from day one even when before subscriptions where offered.
I'm very happy with it.
I use it on my mac, iPad & iPhone.
 
Meister

Is weathermeister still a going concern?
What are your thoughts on the service. Good and bad.
From what I see it appears to be worth subscribing to.
Thanks
Nigel
RV9A Flying

I've had it for several years. It has some good features the others don't have. Worth it in my opinion.

The guy that runs it has an RV-7 and flies with the West Coast Ravens Formation Team.

At one time he had the best build site on the net, till he took it down.
 
The best sight.
Use it all the time.
Well worth the money. Can pay for it with
one long cross country just by saving fuel.

Should buy it.
 
Started using it right after it got started before it went paid. I can get all the info I need faster and in an easier to understand format than I can any other way. My airplane is modeled very accurately and Weathermeister give me very accurate fuel burn and times on routes that I fly. The feature with head wind / tail wind, time, and fuel burn at different altitudes sure makes picking altitudes easy. Yes I may not always take the fastest or best economy altitude but I know how much fuel and time a good ride will cost me.
 
the best i have seen. should qualify for faa briefing some day. links to air nav.com, lays out all needed info. best flying money spent. :)
 
It's all of the information you need in one place. Clear, concise, and easy to read. You do get a briefing transaction ID every time you use it so it does qualify as an official briefing, or at least provides proof that you tried to do the right thing.

In my opinion, it is far more useful than talking to a briefer. A picture is worth 1000 words. There are a lot of pictures in a weathermiester briefing, with links to all kinds of other useful info.
 
Excellent

I've used it at work and at home. Really a very useful site worth every penny.
 
Thanks for the plugs!

I have an update on FAA certification status. Long story short, we took a couple of years off from that process due to cost-benefit issues that the FAA imposed on us (they required us to jump through some pretty expen$ive hoops hardware-wise). Well, the costs have fallen, and back in May I relocated Weathermeister to a new home hosting-wise (Rackspace). I have kicked the process back off with the FAA, and I'm working closely now as we speak with their contractor. I have *every* intention of getting Weathermeister FAA certified come heck or high water.

In fact, if you use "Secure Mode" on Weathermeister, you may have noticed some recent changes (earlier this past week). I don't personally use Secure Mode myself (it's just there for certification purposes), but we gotta do what we gotta do to make the FAA happy!

Believe it or not, EMS helicopter operators are the biggest chunk of the Weathermeister user base (there are thousands of them nationwide), and they have been champin' at the bit for us to get the FAA cert so they can list Weathermeister on their op lims. We *will* do it!

If any RV builder out there wants to try Weathermeister for free, you can use this link and get a 6 month free trial subscription (no catch):

http://www.weathermeister.com/vaf

Be sure to use that link to get the VAF builder special. Let us know ([email protected]) what you think!
 
Same here, been using it for years and it's my "go too" site for every trip!
 
Great Product

Pretty much all I use. Easy to work. I don't even see anything that could improve it!!!

I work for PHI, Inc. one of the largest helicopter operators in the World. We use Weathermeister.

Great job Dan. Thanks for checking in on the FAA update.
 
What benefit to, say, VFR flyers, would certification add? Will there be an extra cost?

Great questions... In terms of what benefit certification adds to us GA types, it's a highly debated subject, with the debate centering around misconceptions about what makes a briefing "legal" in the FAA's eyes. I recommend you read this page and come up with your own conclusion:

http://www.weathermeister.com/legal.jsp

In terms of price changes, there are NO plans to change Weathermeister pricing for non-corporate subscriptions ("Basic" and "Premium" levels will be unaffected).
 
THE Best

Simply THE best. I use it almost every day, even when I am not flying. Money well spent. 2nd is VAF weather page. Doug does a terrific job on his weather page and I use it to back-up/confirm my flight planning.

http://www.vansairforce.net/weather.htm

VAF weather should be just one more reason to keep this site up and running.

I use Weathermeister on my iPhone and laptop (and soon on my hopefully 7.85" iPad, how about it Apple)
 
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I highly recommend Weathermeister. I use it all the time. it's my "go-to" spot for flight planning. Great service and well worth the subscription!!
 
What everybody else says!

I've been using it just about from the beginning.

It's just a great tool that is fully tailorable...if that's a word.

I've looked at others and they just don't stack up to WM. IMHO
 
Hi Dan

Can Weathermeister be used by a none US Citizen ( Canada ) and if yes can the province of residence be enter when subcribing for the service.

So far when selecting the country, all we get are US States.

I've got a couple long X/C coming up and would like to try it if possible.

Thanks

Bruno
[email protected]
 
Yep. It's the best

Weathermeister is great. I use it for every flight. It is very well thought out and convenient to use. Furthermore, it is steadily being improved and enhanced. Great product and great value. Try it out and you will never go back.

Dan Miller
RV-8 1140 hours
 
It's one of my home page tabs. Love it! It's also great for fantasy trip flight planning and the more real the fantasy becomes then you can put it in your saved routes. Extremely easy to use yet very powerful.
 
Thanks for the plugs!

If any RV builder out there wants to try Weathermeister for free, you can use this link and get a 6 month free trial subscription (no catch):

http://www.weathermeister.com/vaf

Be sure to use that link to get the VAF builder special. Let us know ([email protected]) what you think!

Dan, I went to the link and filled out the form till the PayPAL part with no mention of free trial period................. please let me know how this works.

ps. Have you started your 10?
 
:)
Hi Dan

Can Weathermeister be used by a none US Citizen ( Canada ) and if yes can the province of residence be enter when subcribing for the service.

So far when selecting the country, all we get are US States.

I've got a couple long X/C coming up and would like to try it if possible.

Thanks

Bruno
[email protected]

I been using it for years now. Works fine from Canada
 
Dan, I went to the link and filled out the form till the PayPAL part with no mention of free trial period................. please let me know how this works.

ps. Have you started your 10?

Warren, I've activated your trial, so you should be good to go.

Note to others...please email [email protected] if you have questions or issues, since we only check here once in a while. Thanks!
 
Hi Dan

Can Weathermeister be used by a none US Citizen ( Canada ) and if yes can the province of residence be enter when subcribing for the service.

So far when selecting the country, all we get are US States.

I've got a couple long X/C coming up and would like to try it if possible.

Thanks

Bruno
[email protected]
Bruno,

You can pick "Other/Not Listed Here" on the state dropdown. Apologies for the form being very US-centric. What really matters is that you enter your home airport identifier -- much of the experience is driven from that (and whatever areas/routes you set up thereafter).

Please email [email protected] if you have any other questions. Thanks!
 
Have you ever noticed how when you are in a strange town and you consult social media for a recommendation for places to eat there are always some horrible reviews? The place may be great but there is pretty much always someone who thinks it is horrible and the worst place ever.

Notice how that is not the case with Weathermeister? It is hard to find anything much wrong. It is really really good.
 
The best!

Renewed my subscription even tho i am not flying right now, that's how highly I regard it... Simply the best WX info by far.

Thanks Dan!!

.
 
Used it today to get home

Puget Sound was socked with low clouds and I was trying to get home from Walla Walla. The passes were blocked by the cloud layer. We landed in Ellensburg to asses the situation, on weathermeister I could see that yes indeed it was closed up with a 3000 ft layer but it was clear in sat view over the San Juan islands. We went over the top and through the big hole at the islands to an uneventful landing at PAE. Yup it is worth it to me.
 
WOW! 31 posts and not one negative reply! Good on 'ya, Sharpie. Weathermeister is all I've used since I discovered it.
 
I'll make it 32.

I use it on any cross country. The best for picking your altitude. Great all around.
 
Would not leave home without it

Chalk up another one for Dan. I used it before it became a subscription site and was more than happy to pay for it when that changed.
 
The best!

By far the best weather site there is! I usually open it on my iPad before
a trip then close safari. Then in flight i open Safari again (it opens to the
last page you opened) and reference the winds aloft and notams if needed
(although they don't update in flight).
 
Just super

I have been a subscriber for several years. It's just great. All the info I need presented very clearly. I give weathermeister an unqualified recommendation!
 
One more thing

All that having been said, write down the breifing number from Weathermeister so you have documentation should you be checked by some "official'. CRM, or cockpit resource management, encourages pilots to use all available info at their disposal to plan a flight.

Weathermeister just about covers all those bases.

Best,
 
So good that at a get together of Cessna pilots in the Northeast in June two subscriptions were given away as door prizes. Word has spread.
 
Hey Leland

I'm not at all familiar with AvnWx past the link you provided, but a quick glance at it shows that it doesn't seem to do one of the things I love about Weathermeister and that is to show TFRs and Restricted and MOAs right on the map. Mouse hover over them and you get the info. I find it very intuitive for flight/route planning and weather. It also has great depth of information but organized in a way that makes it easy to determine what info you would like to bore down into and the one click gets you that info. It pulls Wx info from lots of different areas, organizes it for a pilot's ease of use, provides quick links to Airnav for airport info, compares fuel prices along a user defined radius from your route, one click digital sectionals etc. etc.

I've been using it for a few years now and the comfort level I have with it is great enough that I have no need to look for alternatives, even if they are cheaper. If anyone is just starting out on picking a package, then it would be interesting to see an ease of use, depth of info, cost comparison, but I doubt you could beat WeatherMeister. I'm just not interested in investing many hours of my time to thoroughly compare the products to see if I could save 15 bucks a year. Call me "big spender"! Also...no ads!

Do you use AvnWx? If so, maybe a pirep for the rest of use who have given a pirep on WeatherMeister...
 
AvnWx and Weathermeister comparison

I'm not at all familiar with AvnWx past the link you provided, but a quick glance at it shows that it doesn't seem to do one of the things I love about Weathermeister and that is to show TFRs and Restricted and MOAs right on the map. Mouse hover over them and you get the info. I find it very intuitive for flight/route planning and weather. It also has great depth of information but organized in a way that makes it easy to determine what info you would like to bore down into and the one click gets you that info. It pulls Wx info from lots of different areas, organizes it for a pilot's ease of use, provides quick links to Airnav for airport info, compares fuel prices along a user defined radius from your route, one click digital sectionals etc. etc.

I've been using it for a few years now and the comfort level I have with it is great enough that I have no need to look for alternatives, even if they are cheaper. If anyone is just starting out on picking a package, then it would be interesting to see an ease of use, depth of info, cost comparison, but I doubt you could beat WeatherMeister. I'm just not interested in investing many hours of my time to thoroughly compare the products to see if I could save 15 bucks a year. Call me "big spender"! Also...no ads!

Do you use AvnWx? If so, maybe a pirep for the rest of use who have given a pirep on WeatherMeister...

Jeremy, I spent an hour on each site and find that both sites have an amazing amount of useful information. AvnWx does have TFRs, restricted and special use airspaces right on their free-access map, along with a whole bunch of other stuff including current airport weathers (Metars), but you have to check the displays you want in the View box on the upper left side of the screen.
Both Weathermeister and AvnWx require a subscription to get full weather briefs, Notams, Pireps, forecasts (TAFs), winds aloft, and more. Neither subscription-based service shows advertisements. The free-side of AvnWx requests donations, and is similar to an upgraded combination of Runwayfinder.com and NavMonster.com, which were probably forced down by a patent troll.
Some differences that Weathermeister calculates are the optimal altitudes for speed or economy cruising, based on winds-aloft forecasts. Weathermeister gives you fuel prices along your intended route (obtained through AirNav.com). Weathermeister gives you a ground-elevation profile along your route (Route Elevation Profile), as well as distances, transit times, and fuel burns, at different altitudes. Weathermeister also includes a link for filing flight plans through Duats.com, with information from your own aircraft profile.
 
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