Private beta: IFR flight planning plugin for pilots
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Hi Windy community,
I’m currently beta testing a Windy.com plugin called Windy IFR Planner and would appreciate feedback from pilots who use Windy for aviation weather planning.
Beta page:
https://snickitybit.com/software/windy-ifr-plugin/The plugin is focused on strategic IFR preflight planning inside Windy. It includes FAA preferred routes through named fixes, route segment weather visualization, vertical profile with terrain/clouds/icing/turbulence/winds, forecast timing by waypoint, cruise-altitude advisories, route comparison, and export options for EFB workflows.
A few current beta notes:
• Desktop browsers are supported.
• Safari on iPad is supported.
• iPhone Safari and the native Windy mobile apps are not supported yet during private beta.
• The plugin is currently installed through Windy developer mode because it is private/unlisted.I fly a PA-46 Malibu Mirage, so this started as a tool I wanted for real-world IFR planning questions:
• What’s the smarter altitude?
• Where is the ice layer?
• How bad are the winds?
• What does the route look like vertically before I go?Important aviation disclaimer:
This is decision support only. It is not a substitute for an official weather briefing, current charts, NOTAMs, ATC clearance, approved flight planning tools, aircraft performance calculations, or pilot judgment.Feedback is very welcome, especially on:
• Route usability
• Altitude recommendations
• Weather/advisory clarity
• Aircraft profiles
• Confusing UI areas
• Plugin installation issues during private betaThanks — I’d appreciate any feedback from pilots willing to test real routes.
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Windy IFR Planner 0.10.0 — Share your routes, and a look at what's next
The latest build is live. Grab it from the install page) and you'll see a What's New card on first open summarizing the changes below.
What's new
- Share a route as a link or QR code. Plan a route, hit Share, and send a link (or scan the QR) that opens the plugin with the whole route already loaded — departure, destination, altitude, aircraft, and the full route string. Great for handing a plan to a fellow pilot or pulling it up on another device.
- Open shared links straight into the planner. Tapping a shared link drops you right into the plugin with everything prefilled and computed — no re-typing.
- Set your departure time directly. New ETD entry lets you type your departure time instead of wrestling the timeline slider — it moves Windy's timeline for you and refreshes the route weather to match.
- In-app "What's New." The plugin now tells you what changed when it updates, so you're never guessing what's new.
Coming next: your aircraft, your numbers
The performance profiles we ship are solid POH approximations — but they're not your airplane. So we're adding the ability to add and edit aircraft right in the plugin, with every performance field editable:
- Name
- Cruise speed (KTAS)
- Service ceiling (ft)
- Climb rate (fpm)
- Descent rate (fpm)
- Fuel burn (gph)
- Typical cruise altitudes (ft)
Fly a 350P that burns 23 GPH, not 18? Correct it. Fly something we don't list yet — a 500TP, a turbine conversion, your homebuilt? Add it from scratch. Your edits are saved on your device, and you can always reset a built-in back to our defaults.
More soon — and as always, the feedback button in the plugin goes straight to us. Keep it coming.
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Windy IFR Planner 0.11.0 — Your aircraft, your numbers, and a smarter look ahead
This release is live. Grab it from the
install page) — installed
testers will see an update notice, and a What's New card summarizes the
changes below.The headline: the "add your own aircraft" feature we teased last release is
here — plus a quick way to size up the next few days and a legend so the
profile finally explains itself.What's new
Add & edit aircraft
The profiles we ship are solid POH approximations — but they're not your
airplane. Now every performance field is yours to change, right in the plugin:- Name
- Cruise speed (KTAS)
- Service ceiling (ft)
- Climb rate (fpm)
- Descent rate (fpm)
- Fuel burn (gph)
- Typical cruise altitudes (ft)
Fly a 350P that burns 23 GPH, not 18? Correct it. Fly something we don't list
yet — a 500TP, a turbine conversion, a homebuilt? Add it from scratch. Your
edits are saved on your device, and you can reset any built-in back to our
defaults anytime.Compare days
One tap compares the next three departure days at your ETD hour and gives
each a Favorable / Mixed / Adverse weather read, with the two biggest
factors tagged by where they apply — Cruise, Climb/Descent, Aircraft
limit. Tap a day to load its full profile and sync Windy's timeline to it.
It's a weather comparison to help you find the good day — not a go/no-go
decision; that call stays yours.A legend for the profile
The vertical profile color-codes a lot — icing and turbulence by severity,
cloud coverage, the freezing level. A new collapsible Legend (right on the
profile's controls row) explains every color and hatch, so you're never
guessing what a band means. It's open the first time so you notice it, then
remembers your choice.Cruise altitude stays within your aircraft
Cruise altitude is now capped at the selected airframe's service ceiling — pick
the PA46-350P and it won't let you plan at FL320. Switch aircraft and a
too-high altitude snaps down automatically.Smaller touches
- The route action button is now labeled Export (it does more than EFB
hand-off now — share link, QR, and the EFB deep link all live there).
As always, the feedback button in the plugin goes straight to us. Tell us what
your airplane needs and what the weather read gets right (or wrong). Keep it
coming.
