Longer-form notes on the soaring weather market and building a physics-heavy API.
RASP UK has been the soaring forecast for UK pilots for two decades, run by volunteers, free, brilliant. Convek is not trying to replace it. Here is what we actually do differently.
XCWeather is great for wind. It is not a soaring forecast. The distinction matters more than most pilots realise, and most apps still get it wrong.
TopMeteo is built around per-country pilot subscriptions. Convek is one API key for every region we cover. The difference shapes everything downstream.
SkySight is the best soaring forecast UI in the world, and I'm a paying user. So why am I building a soaring weather API? Different category. Here is the longer version.
Windy is the most-recognised weather brand in aviation, and yes it has a developer API. Here is what that API actually returns - and the bit of their pricing page worth knowing about.
Open-Meteo is genuinely great for pilot side projects. Here is the honest version of when you outgrow it and need a soaring-specific API.
meteoblue has a soaring API and it's good. Here is why we still run our own WRF, and when each is the right call.
