In the Alps, Burnair is on almost every pilot's phone. It is where the day starts: the thermal forecast, the valley wind, the site info, the decision to drive or not. Wingman is the app pilots fly with: the vario, the recording, the instrument on the wrist. Pilots regularly ask which one they should use, and the honest answer is that they are built for different hours of the day. This post explains what each does, what each costs, and where the overlap is, so you can decide whether you need one of them or both.
In the interest of honesty: we make Wingman. Burnair does several things Wingman does not try to do, and we say so below.
What Burnair is
Burnair is a Swiss platform made by burnair GmbH in Winterthur. It comes as two apps that share one subscription.
burnair Map (web, iOS and Android) is the planning tool. Its core is weather: forecasts for wind, gusts, thermals and cloud, five-day forecasts per launch site, and on the Premium tier, five-day thermal forecasts and a route-weather view for cross-country planning. Around that sits a database of more than 5,000 take-off and landing sites with valley wind systems and lee warnings, airspace, live wind stations, a logbook, and live tracking that works with whatever device you carry.
burnair Go (iOS and Android) is the in-flight companion. It is a map first: terrain shading, your track coloured by climb and sink, live wind arrows, a rain radar, thermal hotspot maps, live thermals from other pilots, airspace with NOTAMs, power lines, lee zones, the nearest landing with a live glide ratio, and your friends' positions. Burnair is clear about what it is not. In the company's own words, "the burnair Go App will not beep, it is no vario replacement", and they do not plan to connect external varios to it. The intended setup is a vario in the cockpit and burnair Go next to it.
Pricing is per year with no automatic renewal: a free tier (site info, live wind values, airspace, live tracking and the Go app), Basic at CHF 59 / €59 with the five-day forecasts, and Premium at CHF 129 / €129 with thermal forecasts, route planning and tracking groups. Coverage is Central Europe, with the Alps as the centre of gravity.
What Wingman is
Wingman is a flight instrument for iPhone and Apple Watch. It does not forecast anything. From the moment you launch it does the job a vario, a GPS logger and a tracker would do together: a reactive vario built from the phone's barometer and accelerometer, automatic take-off and landing detection so every flight is recorded without touching the phone, airspace shown on the map with an alert as you approach a zone, waypoints and task routes, live tracking to friends, to a web link for family, and to FFVL Safe and PureTrack, then a logbook with statistics, 3D replay and IGC export for XContest. The Apple Watch app runs on its own, so the phone can stay in the pack. It is free to download, with a free tier generous enough to fly on rather than a trial, and it works anywhere in the world, because an instrument does not depend on a regional database.
Side by side
| Burnair | Wingman | |
|---|---|---|
| Weather and thermal forecasts | Core strength: 5-day site and thermal forecasts, route weather (Premium) | Soon |
| Flying-site database | 5,000+ sites with valley winds and lee info | Soon |
| Route planning | XC route planning (Premium) | Waypoints and task routes |
| In-flight map | burnair Go: rich layers, wind, rain radar, live thermals | Map with instruments, airspace and waypoints |
| Vario | None. "Will not beep, no vario replacement" | Reactive audio vario, adjustable thresholds |
| Flight recording | GPS track to the burnair logbook | Automatic take-off and landing detection, IGC export |
| Flight review | Logbook with coloured track | Logbook, statistics, 3D replay |
| Airspace | Detailed map layers with NOTAMs, power lines, lee zones | Nearby zones on the map and an alert as you approach |
| Live tracking | Yes, any device; groups on Premium | Yes: friends, web link, FFVL Safe, PureTrack |
| Apple Watch | No Watch app | Standalone app: vario and recording on the wrist |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Coverage | Central Europe, Alps-focused | Worldwide |
| Price | Free tier; CHF/€ 59 or 129 per year | Free download with a generous free tier |
Where Burnair is the better choice
- Deciding whether and where to fly. Nothing in Wingman tells you what tomorrow looks like. Burnair's site forecasts and thermal maps are the reason it is on every Alpine pilot's phone, and the valley-wind and lee information for 5,000 sites is knowledge that used to take years to acquire.
- Cross-country planning. Route weather along a planned line and a database of proven XC routes are Premium features with no equivalent in Wingman.
- Android. Wingman is iPhone-only. If you fly with an Android phone, Burnair is the option.
- Schools and groups. Tracking groups let an instructor watch a whole class on one map.
Where Wingman is the better choice
- The flying itself. Burnair says plainly that Go is not a vario. Wingman is one: it beeps, it reacts fast enough to centre weak lift, and it needs no second device to do so.
- Hands-off recording. Wingman detects take-off and landing on its own. Launch, fly, land; the flight is in the logbook with an IGC file ready for XContest.
- The Apple Watch. There is no Burnair app for the Watch. Wingman's runs standalone, which for hike-and-fly means the phone can stay in the bag entirely.
- Afterwards. 3D replay and flight statistics turn a track into something you can learn from.
- Simplicity. An independent review of Burnair praised its depth and noted the learning curve that comes with it. Wingman is deliberately the opposite: fewer layers, readable in one glance, no setup evening.
- Outside the Alps, and outside the budget. Wingman works the same in Annecy, Valle de Bravo and Bir Billing, and the free tier is generous enough that trying it costs nothing and committing to it is optional. See the best paragliding destinations in the world.
The setup most pilots end up with
Burnair the evening before and at the launch: forecast, wind stations, the lee warning for the site. Wingman from take-off to landing: vario, recording, airspace alert, tracking for the people at home. The two do not compete for the same minutes of your day, and they coexist on one phone. If your friends follow you on burnair Live, leave Go running for that; Wingman keeps recording alongside it.
If you will only install one: a pilot in the Alps who plans carefully and already owns a vario gets more from Burnair. A pilot who wants the phone or the Watch to be the instrument, who flies outside Central Europe, or who would rather not pay a subscription, gets more from Wingman. A forecast is consulted once a day. An instrument is consulted every second you are in the air, and it is the one that must not let you down.
Frequently asked questions
Is Burnair free?
There is a free tier with site information, live wind values, airspace, live tracking and the Go app. The five-day forecasts need Basic (CHF 59 / €59 a year); thermal forecasts, route planning and tracking groups need Premium (CHF 129 / €129 a year, or 29 for 30 days). Subscriptions do not auto-renew.
Does burnair Go work as a vario?
No, and Burnair says so itself: it does not beep and is not meant to replace a vario. Wingman is a vario; see can a phone replace your vario for how it works.
Is there a Burnair app for Apple Watch?
No. Wingman has a standalone Watch app that records flights and runs the vario without the phone; paragliding apps for Apple Watch explains what standalone means in practice.
Does Burnair work outside the Alps?
Its data covers Central Europe, with the depth concentrated on the Alpine countries. Outside that region the forecasts and site database thin out, while an instrument app works anywhere.
Can I use Burnair and Wingman together?
Yes. Plan with Burnair, fly with Wingman. Both can run on the same iPhone during a flight.
