Check the weather on your wrist with ForeFlight’s Apple Watch app

ForeFlight released an Apple Watch version of its popular app last year, designed as a companion to the iPhone version. The app allows you to check local weather and complement your preflight planning with favorite and nearby airport details like runways, NOTAMs, and much more. Here’s a quick look at how to install and use it on your watch.

Installing the ForeFlight Watch App

To install the app on your watch, you must have an Apple Watch Series 4 or newer, running Watch OS 9.4 or later. The app functions in conjunction with ForeFlight mobile for iPhone to provide information. If you have an Apple Watch with cellular connectivity, it will retrieve data directly through its own cellular connection, eliminating the need to connect to an iPhone after the initial setup. If you have a watch without cellular data, your watch must be connected to your iPhone or Wi-Fi to display updated information.

By default, the Apple Watch is set to install compatible apps when the companion app is installed on your iPhone. If the Automatic App Install setting is disabled, you’ll need to install the ForeFlight Watch app manually:

1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Locate ForeFlight in the list of Available Apps.
3. Tap Install to add the ForeFlight Watch app to your watch.

NOTE: If ForeFlight Mobile is not downloaded to your iPhone, it can be downloaded from the App Store on your iPhone or Apple Watch. Downloading the ForeFlight Watch app from the Watch App Store automatically installs ForeFlight Mobile on your iPhone.

How to use the app

The design of ForeFlight’s watch app is simple but effective. The first thing you’ll see at the top of the screen is local weather based on your current location, including winds, visibility and ceiling. Tap on the weather preview box to view detailed information presented in an easy-to-read graphical view:

Head back to the home screen and you’ll see a summary of METAR reports from the favorite and recent airports on your iPhone, along with nearby airports. Tap one, and you’ll see a graphical summary of the METAR, along with a menu of four options to dive deeper into the airport details:

First, the frequencies view displays all relevant communication freqs and phone numbers for the airport:

Tap the weather option to view all available reports and forecasts for the airport, including the raw and decoded METAR, TAF, MOS, hourly forecast and winds aloft forecast:

The Runways section shows basic runway details, traffic pattern direction and headwind/crosswind components using the current winds, and the NOTAMs screen shows current and future notices:

Finally, you can add a few data points from the app (called complications) to customize your watch’s home screen. Options include the current ceiling, surface winds or a shortcut to open the app:

The app is easy to use and an excellent resource for quickly checking the latest weather when on the go or grabbing an airport detail in the air. There are no in-flight or GPS navigation features now, but it’s a must-have for pilots with an Apple Watch and ForeFlight.