Convek vs RASP UK
A clean comparison for pilots and developers evaluating soaring weather options.
RASP UK is a free, community-run soaring forecast for the UK, and is a huge asset to the gliding and paragliding community. Convek builds on the same core ideas - a regional WRF run producing RASP-style fields - but delivers the result as a commercial, supported API.
What Convek is
Convek is a paid, SLA-backed REST JSON API. The model and field design are in the same lineage as RASP, but the product shape is different: structured data for integration, with support, uptime, and commercial licensing.
What RASP UK is
RASP UK is a free volunteer-run web forecast. It serves rendered maps and soundings, driven by a WRF pipeline maintained by the community. It has been a lifeline for UK soaring.
Facts here were accurate at time of writing. If something is out of date or wrong, please let us know.
Which should you pick?
Pick Convek if
You're building a product, need uptime guarantees, or need to redistribute soaring data commercially.
Pick RASP UK if
You're a pilot who just wants a free forecast to plan tomorrow's flight.
In short
RASP UK and Convek aren't quite competitors - they serve different needs. If you want a free forecast to check in a browser, RASP UK is excellent and we encourage using it. If you need data as JSON with uptime guarantees and commercial redistribution rights, that's what Convek is for.