Fly Today


I've been flying for a while now, and when I was younger I always wanted a quick way to check whether the conditions were good enough for flying without the complicated process of checking an Aviation Weather Report. With that in mind, I decided to build a Google Assistant Action called Fly Today.

About Fly Today

Fly Today allows a user to ask their Google Assistant about the weather at a particular airport, and the service responds simply with whether it is VFR or IFR.

But wait, what is VFR and IFR?

VFR stands for Visual Flight Rules, and it basically means the weather is good enough to fly without relying on your instruments. For the most part, you can see where you’re going.

IFR means the weather sucks, and you need specific instrument training (an instrument rating) to fly in these conditions.

As pilots, we have these rules to keep inexperienced pilots from flying in conditions they’re not adequately prepared for, as spatial disorientation in poor weather has killed many pilots since aviation’s inception.

How do I use it?

Simple. Grab your nearest Google Assistant Enabled Device (Google Home, Android Phone, etc.) and ask it to speak to Fly Today. To make things easier, you can say something like “Hey Google, ask fly today if the weather is good at YYZ”, at which point it will connect and tell you the weather is probably IFR at Toronto, because Toronto’s pretty much always overcast and cold.

For those without a Google Assistant, here’s a conversation box that will let you talk directly to it.

Happy Flying!



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