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.

Self Debrief Is Now on Every Plan, Free Included

St. Petersburg, Florida. October 2, 2026. Self Debrief is now on every PlaneWX plan, Free included. It used to be a Pro Plus feature. Not anymore.

Here's why. The debrief is where good habits get built: how did that flight actually go, what did the weather really do, and what do you want to take into the next trip? That's a safety tool, and safety isn't premium. So every pilot gets it.

What it is

Your briefing supported your GO / NO-GO call. The debrief asks how it actually went, while the flight is still in your head. You work top to bottom: flight purpose, how you navigated, a rating for how you did, mental sharpness, a FRAT look-back, discipline, weather, then the phases of the flight. The stars mean how you flew, not how fun it was. It saves as you go, and it doesn't change your WX Score.

Debrief it once you're on the ground

You don't have to go looking for it. After you land, the post-flight review email you already get has a Debrief This Flight button. The bell at the top of the app also shows a To do item about an hour after your planned arrival. It stays until you start the debrief or mark the flight Didn't fly. Tap either one and you're in the debrief for that flight.

Where to find it

You can also get there yourself. Open the Profile menu and pick My Flights. On the My Flights page, choose My Debriefs.

Yours by default

Private notes never leave your account. Mentors, Trip Watchers, groups and your public profile never see them. A mentor or CFI sees the rest of a debrief only if you turn on Self-debrief access for that person in My Crew. It's off by default, and they can't edit your answers.

Self Debrief is part of PlaneWX Labs, our early access features, so it's still growing. Tell us what you'd like it to ask. The full guide is at app.planewx.ai/help/self-debrief.

About PlaneWX

Fly like it's your job. PlaneWX is the decision support system for general aviation. It gives pilots professional-grade tools and builds professional-grade habits that make flying safer. The loop is WX Score, FRAT, GO / NO-GO and Self Debrief (early access). PlaneWX never recommends GO or NO-GO. The pilot makes the call.

Media contact

Mark Wolfgang, PlaneWX
hello@planewx.ai
www.planewx.ai