Forecasting the Future: Introducing Navigator

Turbulence Forecast was born out of a bad flying experience I had in 2005. After that flight, I was determined to learn everything there was to know about what impacts how smooth - or rough - a flight could feel. 

Armed with that knowledge, I noticed that I could reliably predict expected turbulence up to 18-hours in advance. What started as a way to make myself feel more comfortable soon became something that I could use to help others. 

So when I say I understand why you use Turbulence Forecast, it’s because I use it too.

It helps us capitalize on exciting professional opportunities and stay connected to loved ones across long distances (and yes, I’ve heard your stories - keep them coming!). We all want to know what to expect and how to make air travel as comfortable as possible.

Since those early days of the site, I’ve added personalized forecasting, iOS and Android apps, and automated forecasting up to 42-hours in advance. Those 42 hour automated forecasts were a game changer at the time, but we always knew that there was demand for longer range predictions. 

Behind the scenes, I was routinely working with customers who needed help planning their travel several days in advance. I wasn't just offering advice - I was testing and confirming that my guidance held up over time. And when I discovered that we could forecast turbulence with reasonable accuracy up to five days in advance, I knew we’d found the next chapter of Turbulence Forecast.

And with that, I proudly introduce our biggest release in 20 years: Navigator. 

Navigator brings you the power of our forecasts five full days ahead of your travel. It’s available now on the web, iOS and Android app.

During the development phase, I worried people might not believe that accurate five-day forecasts were really possible. I’ve always been transparent about how we operate and I knew we needed a way for you to see what I could see. So, I worked with my talented team to develop Drift, a transparency tool to demonstrate exactly how conditions change over time. 

Drift takes a daily snapshot to let you see how the forecast evolves from, say, Monday to Friday—what changed, what stayed the same, and how that shaped the final outlook. I think you’ll be surprised at how accurate the maps remain despite the longer range and I encourage you to check it out for yourself, even before you subscribe. 

In order to keep Turbulence Forecast sustainable without ads, we’ve introduced Navigator on a new premium subscription tier. Your subscription supports my team of seven who have been hard at work to bring you this new feature - and we’re not stopping there. 

We are already hard at work adding new functions to the Navigator Map and recently increased the range of our automated forecasts up to the same 120-hour range for subscribers of the navigator tier. As the founder of Turbulence Forecast, I’m not just thinking about where we started - I’m continuing to invest in our future, too. It’s an investment that can be seen in the recent development of our fully featured apps, now featuring push notifications. 

No matter how you use Turbulence Forecast, thank you for flying with us over the last 20 years. Although there are more of us now, I remain in the middle of it all: handling each customer service inquiry, forecasting nearly 100% of all personalized forecasts, and providing the roadmap for my team as we look to the development of our next features. Since 2005, I’ve been committed to helping you travel more comfortably—and now, we can start planning a few days earlier.