Which spot is flyable over the next few days?
The thermal forecast for Swiss launch sites.

Wingcast is a free AI flying-weather app for Swiss paraglider pilots. It aggregates five weather models via Open-Meteo (ICON-CH1 at 1 km resolution and ICON-CH2 at 2 km from MeteoSwiss, plus ICON-D2, ICON-EU and GFS), computes classic atmospheric physics from them deterministically in code (thermal base, inversions, foehn detection, gust decay), and only then lets the AI analyse and rate safety and suitability for each spot. 494 Swiss launch sites are ranked automatically by flyability for each day, together with reasoning in plain language — wind, thermals, foehn situation, lee risks. Instead of digging through weather models for 45 minutes, you see in 30 seconds where it is flyable today or over the next few days — and why. Sign-up by email and magic link, no credit card, no trial counter. Optionally an email Cast arrives at 06:00 on the weekdays you choose. Wingcast is decision support for pilots, not a decision maker — the final decision at the launch site is yours.

Yes. Wingcast is a free thermal forecast for Switzerland: for 494 launch sites it calculates three days ahead every morning when the thermals trigger, how high the base sits and how strong the wind blows. The basis is high-resolution weather models, among them ICON-CH1 at 1 km resolution from MeteoSwiss. The physics runs deterministically in code: thermal base by the parcel method with inversion detection, foehn detection via the pressure difference Zurich–Lugano, gust decay over the terrain. Only on top of these values does the AI assess each spot and write the reasoning in plain language, for example: Niesen 11:00–14:00, wind 8 km/h south, thermal base around 2400 m, foehn tendency from 14:30. For each day the spots are ranked by flyability. Wingcast does not replace your usual sources, it makes the pre-selection – the decision at the launch site is yours. Free, no credit card.

Currently nothing. The forecast for regions, the spot rating for each of the 494 launch sites and the weekly briefing are accessible without a credit card and without a trial counter — you only have to sign up. If anything changes about the model, we'll say so openly before we switch.

Honest answer: quite a bit. Wingcast is beta — individual launch sites are still missing from the data set, the stored launch direction may not be entirely right at some spots, and occasionally there are functional bugs or outages. We work on it continuously and prioritise according to what the beta community reports. Missing a spot, a launch direction that doesn't fit, a function that plays up? Write to us at info@wingcast.ch — a short note is enough, every report helps.

Wingcast doesn't replace them — it makes the pre-selection for you. Instead of comparing models and webcams for 30 to 45 minutes, you get a ranked list of the best spots for the coming 3 days in 30 seconds. The fine-tuning you do as usual with the tools you trust.

Foehn is a warm, dry downslope wind that forms when air is forced over a mountain ridge, drops its precipitation on the windward side and sinks down warmed on the lee side. For pilots foehn means: high wind speeds aloft, strong turbulence in the lee of the mountains, rapid weather changes. Wingcast detects foehn situations via the pressure gradient between Zurich and Lugano, combined with the upper wind at 700 hPa and the humidity signature — the same indicators MeteoSwiss uses for its foehn warnings. When foehn is active, affected spots are automatically downgraded, with a note in plain language. More background: meteoschweiz.admin.ch/wetter/wetterphaenomene/foehn.

Yes. Every rating comes with reasoning in plain language — for example: Niesen conditional today, because foehn tendency from 14:00 → lee risk, safe slot 11:00–13:30. Over the weeks you recognise the patterns yourself — when foehn arrives, how inversions slow the thermals, where lee is to be expected. We don't want to replace your understanding of the weather, we want to speed it up.

We aggregate five weather models via Open-Meteo: ICON-CH1 (1 km) and ICON-CH2 (2 km) from MeteoSwiss for Swiss topography, plus ICON-D2, ICON-EU and GFS for large-scale situations and longer horizons. Classic atmospheric calculations run on this data deterministically in code: thermal base via the parcel method with inversion detection and terrain-calibrated zones, foehn detection via the north–south pressure gradient plus upper wind and humidity signature, gust decay over the terrain, cloud holes via reference points. Only on this data basis does the AI analyse and rate safety and suitability for each spot — it evaluates the computed physics and writes the reasoning. No magic, no hocus-pocus. In uncertain conditions we are deliberately conservative. We don't promise perfection.

You choose your regions in the app, confirm your email address and have immediate access to the forecast and the map. If you want the briefing, you set in the app which weekdays it should arrive on — the first email then follows on the next day you chose, at 06:00.

Yes. The app runs straight in the browser, and the briefing is compatible with all mail clients. Apple Mail and Gmail support the interactive weekday tabs in full.

A paraglider pilot from Zurich. Doing my own spot check I often couldn't see the wood for the data — windgrams, models, webcams, valley winds. Wingcast is my experiment: can AI help to process these volumes of data so that a clear basis for a decision ends up on the table? That is exactly what I'm testing right now — together with the beta community.

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