How is PlaneWX different from my EFB or aviationweather.gov?

Your EFB is excellent for charts, filing, and day-of flying. Aviationweather.gov and Flight Service (including 1800WXBRIEF) give you official weather products. PlaneWX sits beside those tools. It does not replace them. What PlaneWX adds is decision support days out: a WX Score matched to your aircraft and personal minimums, a dynamic FRAT on the FAA PAVE framework, and mentors who see the same briefing you see. You can also share a flight plan into PlaneWX from a supported EFB. You stay PIC. Charts, filing, and official sources stay where they belong.

Is the briefing accurate?

Your briefing uses the same official observations and forecasts every pilot relies on: METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, SIGMETs and model guidance. It can only be as accurate as those forecasts, and every forecast carries some uncertainty. Every weather briefing, from any provider, also has the same built-in limit. It describes one departure time, one route, one altitude and one arrival time. Real flights change. You leave late, get rerouted, or get assigned a different altitude, and each change puts you in weather the briefing didn't look at. That's why PlaneWX can keep updating your briefing for monitored flights as the forecast changes, and why your decision-making continues in the air.

How can I make my briefing more accurate?

Enter the flight the way you'll really fly it: a realistic departure time, the route you expect to file or be cleared, your planned altitude, and the right aircraft profile. If any of those change, update the trip and brief again. Check again close to departure, when the forecasts are freshest.

Yes, in specific places. Weather reports, forecasts, model data and NOTAMs are fetched and decoded by code. AI reads forecaster discussions and writes the plain-language briefing, the hazard summary and most section ratings. It also proposes a starting WX Score and some deductions, such as for convection. Ceiling and visibility are always scored by code. Within 12 hours of departure, your personal minimums and aircraft limits are checked by rule-based code, not the AI. Further out, AI also helps weigh icing and turbulence against your limits. You always make the final call.

What is the WX Score?

The WX Score is a 0-100% metric calculated against YOUR personal minimums and your specific aircraft, not generic VFR/IFR categories. It tells you, in a single number, how well conditions are expected to match your standards. Every deduction is transparent and explained.

What is the PAVE framework?

PAVE is the FAA risk framework: Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, and External pressures. It is the structure behind a serious preflight risk assessment, not a weather product by itself. We walk through it in plain language in our PAVE risk assessment guide. PlaneWX FRAT uses that same framework as a living sit-down assessment near departure. See how PlaneWX FRAT works, including how the briefing and airport context feed the enVironment side.

How far in advance can PlaneWX forecast weather?

PlaneWX provides weather intelligence from 14 days out through departure. Confidence improves as your flight approaches. We are transparent about uncertainty at every time horizon.

What is the mentor system?

PlaneWX connects you with experienced pilots who can review your full briefing (WX Score, aircraft profile, personal minimums) and offer a second set of eyes grounded in shared data, not guesswork. Mentor sits alongside the risk-management loop when you want it.

Is there a free plan?

Yes. Free forever includes full-quality briefings. We limit how much you can use PlaneWX, not how good the analysis is. Details on plans and what each tier includes are in PlaneWX Plans help.

What's the difference between Casual, Pro, and Pro Plus?

Casual is for pilots who fly a few times a month and want auto-monitoring. Pro raises limits and automation. Pro Plus adds Ground Protection, Auto-Brief, Pre-Flight Text, briefed fuel stops, and Labs. Compare current limits and features in Plans help, or start from the pricing section on this page. Personal minimums still drive the WX Score on every plan. If you are setting those for the first time, see personal minimums for weather planning.

What happens after the 14-day free trial?

You keep access on Free, or choose Casual, Pro, or Pro Plus. No card is required to start the trial. Plan details stay in Plans help.

New beta: PlaneWX in Claude and Grok

PlaneWX started as a weather briefing. It has grown into a full risk management system built around a simple loop: Brief, Assess, Decide, Debrief. Today we're opening a new way into that loop.

The PlaneWX connector is now in beta for Pro Plus pilots. It links your PlaneWX account to Claude or Grok, so you can ask about your flying in a normal conversation and get answers from your own PlaneWX data. ChatGPT and Gemini are coming soon.

How I'm using it

Here's a real example from my own planning. I wanted to fly to Nashville on Sunday, so I just told Claude:

"I want to fly to Nashville on Sunday. Check a few departure times and give me the WX Score for each."

Claude ran PlaneWX briefings for three different times that day and came back with the WX Score for each one. I looked them over, picked the time that fit my day, and said:

"Save that time as a trip."

It saved the trip in PlaneWX, where it gets its own fresh briefing and shows up with the rest of my trips. Then I asked about getting home:

"Now build a return trip for Monday or Tuesday and find me some good departure windows."

Claude searched both days and laid out the windows with their scores. A few minutes of conversation and I had the outbound trip saved and the return options in front of me. The decision was still mine. It just took a lot less clicking to get there.

See it in action

Two short demos of the PlaneWX connector in Claude:

Ask Claude "Can I Fly Tomorrow?" - PlaneWX's New MCP

Claude Cross-Checked My PlaneWX Briefing Against ForeFlight - Here's What It Caught

Cross-check your briefing

If you also use the ForeFlight connector in Claude, you can connect both and get a second look at the same flight:

"Compare the ForeFlight briefing with PlaneWX for my trip to KASE and list where they differ."

Claude lays the two side by side and points out where they disagree, with likely reasons like a different station, valid time, or model run. Neither one is treated as the right answer. You see the differences and you judge what they mean.

What else you can ask

Your saved trips. Route, departure time, stored WX Score, plus Self Debriefs and FRATs for past trips. "What upcoming trips do I have?"
Your saved briefing. The same briefing and WX Score you see in the app, with no re-score unless you ask to refresh. "What does my briefing for tomorrow's trip to KASE look like?"
Departure windows. Ranked candidate times, honoring limits like arriving before sunset. "Find the best departure window Saturday from KAPA to KSDL."
Airports and your profile. Look up an airport or check the minimums your WX Score uses.

You're still the PIC

PlaneWX doesn't tell you to go or not to go, and neither does the connector. The assistant reports the WX Score, the band (Favorable, Marginal, or Unfavorable), and what drives it, and links back to the full PlaneWX briefing. The GO/NO-GO call stays with you.

What gets shared

The connector shares your profile, aircraft, personal minimums, saved trips, Self Debriefs, and FRATs with the assistant you connect. Self Debrief private notes are included in trimmed form; Mentors, Trip Watchers, groups, and Insights still never see them. PlaneWX never sends your password, payment details, medical certificate, logbook entries, or other pilots' data.

How to connect

In PlaneWX, go to Profile, Preferences, PlaneWX Labs and turn on the AI assistant connector switch.
In Claude or Grok, add a custom connector with the PlaneWX MCP URL: https://app.planewx.ai/api/mcp
Sign in to PlaneWX and approve on the consent screen. Tick "Also allow building briefings" for scored runs.

Full steps are in Help: Connect PlaneWX to Claude or Grok.

It's a Pro Plus Labs feature (Enterprise included), not available on Free, Casual, Pro, or during the free trial.

Help us shape it

This is a beta, so you may run into rough edges. If something looks wrong, or you find a prompt that works great, tell me with the Feedback button in the app. I read every one.

Blue skies,
Mark