St. Petersburg, Florida — August 12, 2026 — A VFR WX Score in the basement is often ceilings and visibility, not ice or storms. If you are instrument-rated and the airplane is IFR-certified, that number is answering the wrong rules. PlaneWX now shows what the same weather scores under IFR — on the briefing you already have.
The idea came from Wayne (@waynemcc), a PlaneWX mentor: a second number on the same weather, not a second briefing, and not a silent rules change.
When it qualifies, a green X% if IFR* appears next to the VFR WX Score. The asterisk is the currency note. PlaneWX assumes you are instrument current. It does not check.
All four have to be true, or you will not see it:
- The leg is VFR
- Your pilot profile has an instrument rating
- The aircraft is marked IFR-certified
- IFR would actually help — at least 20 points, and at least 20 of those points from ceiling, visibility, or IMC rules, not from ice, turbulence, or storms that still apply
Switch to IFR & re-brief on the briefing or in Path to Favorable. Confirm, and that leg becomes IFR at that score. Ice, turbulence, and convection still count. Filing IFR does not erase a thunderstorm.
Owner-only. Shared, public, and group views never show the dual score or the switch. It does not flip you automatically.
The in-app guide is at app.planewx.ai/help/switch-to-ifr.
About PlaneWX
PlaneWX is the pilot’s decision support system, founded in 2025 by Mark Wolfgang, a Navy veteran and commercial instrument-rated pilot. Its WX Score synthesizes authoritative weather data against each pilot’s specific aircraft and personal minimums, feeds an integrated flight risk assessment built on the FAA’s PAVE framework, and connects pilots to a peer mentor network — so go/no-go planning can start up to 14 days out, not the night before. Tagline: The confidence to go, or the courage to stay™.
Media contact
Mark Wolfgang, PlaneWX
hello@planewx.ai
www.planewx.ai