Variograph vs LK8000: a tactical flight computer and an analysis platform

LK8000 is a long-established open-source tactical flight computer with roots in the gliding world. Variograph is a post-flight analysis platform. Touching the same IGC file does not make them the same tool.

What LK8000 does

LK8000 puts the information you need for airborne decisions on screen:

• Densely configurable infoboxes — the size you want, where you want it
• Terrain and airspace, waypoints and task management
• Final glide calculations, wind estimation, thermal aids
• IGC logging
• Running on Android as well as older PNA / Windows CE devices

That last point matters: because LK8000 is long-lived, undemanding on hardware and open source, it remains a serious option for pilots who would rather not fly with their phone. It is free and community-developed.

What Variograph does

Variograph does nothing in the air. It reads the file after you land:

• Thermal and glide separation, with duration and gain per thermal
• Net vario — air-mass climb with your wing's sink removed
• Wind profile from thermal drift — by altitude band, from your own track
• Safety score, incident list, 3D replay
• A season's archive: takeoff collection, per-wing performance, label filtering
• IGC signature status — whether the file was edited after recording

The one place they overlap: wind

LK8000 estimates wind in flight; Variograph derives a wind profile after it. The quantity looks the same but the purpose is not:

• In the air a wind estimate is a decision tool: it changes your final glide and whether you make the next turnpoint. Instantaneous and approximate is enough.
• After the flight a wind profile is a learning tool: a layered picture — 18 km/h from the south-west at 1200 m, 26 km/h from the west at 2000 m. That table tells you at what height to enter that valley next time; the day's final glide does not.

Using both

• Fly — with LK8000, on a phone or a dedicated device.
• Pull the IGC file off the device afterwards.
• Upload it to the dashboard — the raw file is stored as-is, signature intact.
• Analyse: thermals, wind profile, scores, 3D replay.

Which question goes where

LK8000: Can I get home from this height? What climb do I need for the next turnpoint? How far to the airspace boundary?

Variograph: Did I get home that day, and if not, where did I lose it? Has my average climb improved over the season? Why were two days in the same valley so different in wind profile?

Common questions

LK8000 already shows something after the flight.

You can see a flight summary on the device. The difference is scale: Variograph makes an archive comparable, not a single flight — by launch, by wing, by label.

Is it open source?

LK8000 is open source and free. Variograph is a hosted platform; uploading flights and the core analysis are free, with some features behind Pro.

Can I upload a file from an old PNA device?

Yes — IGC is a standard text format. If the log frequency is low, the analysis says so plainly in the data quality panel.

Further reading

Other comparisons: XCTrack, FlySkyHy, FlyMe.