Reading your report
A report is designed to be read top to bottom once, then skimmed again before you go. The report header identifies the review stage, route, aircraft, retrieval window and planned times. The action bar stays above the report so you can download, print, email or refresh it without losing your place.
The verdict
At the top: a result and a headline.
- GO — nothing in the picture argues against the flight as planned
- CAUTION — the flight is workable, but something specific needs your attention or a change to the plan
- NO-GO — something in the picture argues against the flight as planned
- Insufficient data — a source needed for an honest answer could not be reached. The report says which, rather than guessing
Beside it, an overall risk level — low, moderate, high or critical — and a one-line headline naming the dominant issue.
A verdict is an opinion about the flight as you described it. Change the flight — a later departure, a different altitude, a fuel stop — and the answer can change with it.
The executive summary
The whole flight in a paragraph: where you are going, in what, when, and the one or two things that decide the day.
Hazard bars
A visual snapshot across up to seventeen categories — turbulence, ceilings, visibility, surface winds, wind shear, icing, precipitation and convection, lift and thermals, terrain and obstacles, night and low light, circadian fatigue, spatial disorientation, NOTAM impact, navaid and equipment outages, fuel endurance, pilot currency, and anything else that applies.
Each bar reads None, Low, Moderate, Significant, Severe, or No data, with a one-line reason. "No data" is a full neutral bar and means exactly that: nobody is telling you this is fine.
Scan the bars first. They tell you where to read carefully.
The written analysis
The narrative then works through the flight in plain language: the stage-specific conclusion, weather along the route, fuel and performance, terrain and obstacles, NOTAMs, advisory context and the final conclusion. Important figures are repeated where they affect the decision, so the reasoning does not depend on decoding a panel elsewhere.
Critical factors and positive factors
Critical factors each name the finding, its severity, and — importantly — its operational effect: not "gusts to 27 knots" but what that does to your departure.
Positive factors are the other half of an honest picture: a long dry runway, a familiar destination, generous fuel, daylight throughout, an instructor aboard.
The eight assessments
Each one has a status — favourable, caution, unfavourable, insufficient data, or not applicable — a summary, and its own findings:
- Pilot readiness — your experience, recency and currency against this flight
- Aircraft suitability — the aeroplane against the mission
- Departure conditions
- En route conditions
- Destination conditions
- Alternate conditions
- NOTAM review
- Fuel and endurance
Missing or stale data
Anything the report could not get, or got but is older than it should be, is listed with the effect that gap has on the analysis. A report never quietly omits a source.
If the report is thin
When too little of the analysis completed, the report is held behind a screen that names each missing piece before you read anything. You can continue at the discounted price of $3.95, with any difference already paid refunded to your card automatically, or cancel and keep your report credit for the next attempt. A report with very low coverage, or one that ends in insufficient data, is complimentary — you simply continue and nothing is charged. See Reports, pricing and refunds.
Items to resolve
A short action list: the things to settle before you launch. Call the FBO about the fuel. Confirm the runway reopened. Check the TAF amendment at 1800Z. Decide your turn-back point.
Then decide
Read the narrative, not just the headline. The report exists to make you think about the specific risk in this specific flight. The go or no-go call is yours.
Decision time
Reports that aren't NO-GO open with one line: Make the call by HHMMZ with the reason (forecast drop below 1,000 ft / 3 SM for VFR, a closure or permission notice, or sunset for gliders and balloons), or Not a factor. It also prints on the kneeboard card. It's advice only and never changes the verdict.
Automatic fact checks
Before you see it, every report is checked in code against its own data: TAF times are written as day and UTC, estimated density altitude from a nearby station is labeled as an estimate, airspace near the route is described as "near" unless the track is confirmed inside it, obstacle heights and places are tied to the same record, and a corridor scan is described as exposure, not as a proven conflict. A missing category rating is a confirmation item, never a NO-GO by itself.
Low-level wind shear from the model
When forecast winds change by 15 kt or more between the surface and about 1,000 ft above ground, the wind-shear bar is raised to Moderate with a short note. It's model guidance, not a published shear warning.
Engine failure on takeoff
Single-engine piston airplane reports include a red Engine failure on takeoff box for each likely departure runway, also shown on the kneeboard card: below about 700 ft AGL land ahead within 30° of runway heading, the best area found, and what to avoid. It is computed from terrain and charted obstacles only — fields, buildings and trees are not assessed — so confirm the area visually during preflight. A runway closed by notice at departure is never briefed; the box asks you to brief the runway you will actually use. It never changes the verdict.
Decision time colours
The decision-time line is coloured: green when timing is not a factor or there are 2 hours or more of slack, yellow under 2 hours, red under 1 hour. The same colours appear on the kneeboard card.
Notices that matter
Reports show only notices that could change the go/no-go decision: runway and airport closures, shortened runways, lighting and PAPI/VASI outages, significant cranes and towers (tallest first, grouped by airport and direction), restrictions, GPS outages, drones, parachuting, lasers, birds and fuel restrictions. Cancelled notices and notices outside your flight window are left out. A fuel-unavailable notice means the report won't call your fuel workable until fuel on board is confirmed.
Cruise altitudes by direction of flight
Weather, winds and terrain are checked at a cruise altitude you can legally fly inside your altitude band: VFR uses odd or even thousands plus 500 ft (14 CFR 91.159), IFR uses odd or even thousands (91.179), based on your direct course. Example: westbound in a 10,000–12,499 ft band, VFR is checked at 10,500 ft, IFR at 10,000 or 12,000 ft. If no legal altitude in the band clears terrain, the report says so. The weather profile chart shows the same altitude.
Obstacles, terrain and military routes
High ground is never labelled a tower. Each structure's height, place and distance come from one record, and low-level clearance is checked structure by structure. Military training routes (VR/IR) within 10 NM appear in the Airspace section with their published hours — hours don't prove the route is active. Daily-schedule closures are checked against your actual flight times.
Night arrivals
When arrival is after civil dusk, fuel reserve figures use the 45-minute night VFR reserve.
Saved reports never change
Improvements to the automatic fact checks apply to new reports and re-runs only. To get the latest checks on an older flight, open it and use Re-run.