QMetar user manual · QRouting Software

QMetar shows aviation weather reports (METAR and TAF) and airport data on a Wear OS watch. It works on the watch alone, without a phone app, and keeps the last data so it can still be read in flight without coverage.

For information only. Not for flight planning or navigation. Always use official briefing sources.

Main screen
Airports
Airfields without METAR
DATA: airport data
Tile
Settings
Flight rules categories
Without coverage
Amber means old
Data sources and privacy

Main screen

From top to bottom:

Station and category. The ICAO code of the selected airport and its flight rules badge (for example VMC in green or IFR in red; see Flight rules categories). Tap this line to open DATA.
Updated HH:mm. When the report was downloaded.
Notices in amber, only when there is something to say:
- No METAR for LEFM / Nearest: LEVS, 37 NM / 69 km: the airfield has no METAR of its own (see Airfields without METAR).
- METAR 2 h 10 min old: the latest METAR is more than 70 minutes old; the station may have stopped reporting.
METAR and TAF as plain text. The text size is set in Settings.
Refresh. Downloads the report again. You can also pull the screen down from the top.
DATA. Opens the airport data.
Airports. Opens the list of airports.
Gear. Opens Settings.
Disclaimer and app version.

The report is downloaded when the app opens, when you choose another airport, and when you come back to the app after more than 2 minutes. Scroll with the touch screen or with the watch's rotating crown or bezel.

Airports

Airports screen

Ten airports in two columns. The selected one is drawn with a blue outline.

Tap an airport to select it and go back to the main screen.
Long press an airport to edit it:
- Type a 4-letter ICAO code and tap Save. The app checks that the airport has a METAR, or that it is in openAIP (airfields without METAR are accepted too). Leave the field empty to keep the current code.
- ◀ 3/10 ▶ moves the airport one place earlier or later in the list. The change is saved at once.
Download all. Downloads the METAR/TAF and the airport data of all ten airports, for use without coverage. The button shows the progress (3/10…) and the text below it shows the result: All downloaded at 17:35, or which airports failed.
Reset. Goes back to the default list (LEVS, LEVD, LEGT, LEBA, LEBG, LESA, LEAS, LEGR, LEMD, LETO). Tap it twice within 3 seconds to confirm.

Airfields without METAR

Many airfields, such as glider or ultralight fields, have no METAR. For these, the app shows the METAR/TAF of the nearest station that has one, within about 450 km, and says so in amber on the main screen with its distance.

The airfield's position comes from openAIP, so it must be listed there.
The nearest station is remembered, so later downloads are quick.
The flight rules badge is not shown, and the tile shows no QNH or category: the conditions at another station are not the airfield's own.
In DATA, the wind and the density altitude are worked out with the nearest station's METAR, and its code is shown.

DATA: airport data

DATA screen Wind and sun on the DATA screen

Opened with DATA or by tapping the station line on the main screen. The title is the ICAO code; if openAIP lists the airport under another code, both are shown (LECU/LEVS).

Section	What it shows
Name	Airport name.
Elevation	In ft and m.
Density altitude	From the elevation and the temperature and QNH in the METAR, e.g. `3872 ft (18 °C, 1023 hPa)`. The pressure altitude uses the standard atmosphere, corrected by 120 ft for each °C above or below the standard temperature.
Runways	One line per runway: designators, length × width and surface, e.g. `09/27 1500×30 m Asphalt`.
Frequencies	Frequency and name, one per line.
Wind	Which METAR is used and its time, the wind (`240° 9 kt, gusts 18 kt`) and, for each runway end, the headwind (or tailwind) and crosswind with the side it comes from: `27: head 7, cross 5 L`. Runway ends are sorted from most to least headwind; the first one is ticked (✓). Components use the mean wind, not the gusts. No components are given with calm or variable wind.
Sun today	Sunrise, sunset and civil twilight (start and end), in the watch's time zone. Worked out on the watch, no connection needed.
Data: openAIP, date	When the airport data was downloaded.

Airport data is kept on the watch and reused for 10 days. After that it is downloaded again; without coverage the old data is shown with an amber warning.
Wind and density altitude come from the last METAR shown on the main screen. They are shown in amber if that METAR is more than 70 minutes old.
The text size is the one set in Settings.

Tile

Add the QMetar tile from your watch's tiles editor (on most watches: swipe left from the watch face to the end of the tiles and tap +). It shows the selected airport:

Flight rules badge.
ICAO code and airport name.
Time of the last download and how long ago it was: 15:02 (37 min ago).
Observation time of the METAR (251530Z), in amber if it is more than 70 minutes old.
QNH.

The watch refreshes the tile about every 30 minutes. If the saved report is more than 5 minutes old it is downloaded again; without coverage the last values stay on the tile. Tap the tile to open the app.

Settings

Opened with the gear on the main screen.

Set font. Text size of the METAR/TAF, from 10 to 24 (default 14), with a preview. It also applies to the DATA screen and to the error text.
FAA/ICAO. Which flight rules categories are shown on the main screen and the tile. ICAO is the default. The screen also shows each category's limits.

Flight rules categories

Worked out from the prevailing visibility and the ceiling in the METAR (not the TAF).

FAA

Category	Colour	Visibility	Ceiling
VFR	Green	≥ 5 mi	≥ 3000 ft
MVFR	Blue	≥ 3 mi	≥ 1000 ft
IFR	Red	≥ 1 mi	≥ 500 ft
LIFR	Magenta	Below IFR

ICAO

Category	Colour	Visibility	Ceiling
VMC	Green	≥ 5 km	≥ 1500 ft
IMC	Red	Below VMC

??? (grey) means the visibility or the ceiling is missing or not reported, and the category depends on it. If the other value already settles it, the category is shown: 900 m of visibility with VV/// is LIFR and IMC.

The ceiling is the lowest broken (BKN) or overcast (OVC) layer, or the vertical visibility (VV). FEW and SCT layers are ignored.
CAVOK counts as 10 km.
US reports in statute miles (10SM, 1 1/2SM) are understood.

Without coverage

The app keeps the last report of each airport, so it can be read in flight.

Before the flight, open Airports and tap Download all. That saves the METAR/TAF and the airport data of all ten airports.
If a download fails, the app tries once more after a second and a half. With no connection at all, the error is shown at once.
The error screen offers:
- Show error: the technical reason.
- Retry.
- Last (3 h ago): the last report saved for that airport, if it is less than 20 hours old. It is shown with Downloaded 09:12, 3 h 05 min ago in amber.
- Airports, instead of Last, when there is no recent report, to choose another airport.
DATA shows old airport data with a warning if it can't be updated.

Amber means old

Anything in amber is not current:

Main screen: a METAR more than 70 minutes old, the nearest-station notice, or the last saved report shown after a failed download.
Tile: the METAR observation time when it is more than 70 minutes old.
DATA: wind and density altitude from an old METAR, and airport data that couldn't be updated.

Data sources and privacy

Weather: aviationweather.gov, U.S. National Weather Service.
Airport data: openAIP, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.
Sunrise and sunset: worked out on the watch.

The app has no accounts, ads or tracking, and does not use your location. It only sends airport codes (and, for airfields without METAR, an area around the airfield) to the two services above to get their data, and keeps its settings and the downloaded data on the watch. See the privacy policy.

QMetar - User manual

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