Weather Selection

[fellop]

Good Evening,

New Boy here,

Just a quick question if I may re weather setting.

I use FS9 on a Desktop with AS 6.5 weather; I have Plan G on a laptop with WideFS. I am unsure what weather option I should select under options in Plan G,
Download weather from NWS or Display Nearest Weather or Update Local or some combination of the three or all three or does it not matter if I use AS 6.5 live update feeding FS.
I have looked at the manual but Section 8.7.9 Weather is, to me, a little confusing when it refers to FS X.

Regards
Peter

PS
It's been a long time since Solent Airlines Tim, nice programme by the way.

[tim arnot]

Hi Peter,

I think Solent was still going when I started writing Plan-G... Shows how long ago that was (or should I not admit it)!

I believe Active Sky uses their own server for weather, but if it is "live", their feed will have originally come from NWS or one of only a few alternatives. It'll be the same to within a few minutes, depending on network lag, update rates etc. The advantage to NWS data is that it is (a) real (b) formatted in a way that is immediately understandable to pilots, and (c) you get TAFs as well as METARs, so you have a forecast for up to 18 hours. This data is available simply by right clicking on an airport; you don't even need to have FS running.

FS weather, as it implies, comes from FS. Now if Active Sky is feeding FS, it ought to be the same, but in practice, FS allows it to drift and otherwise mucks around with it. You also don't get the full METAR data.

So in reality, NS data is what's outside your window, FS data is what's inside your sim. They may coincide.

[fellop]

Hi Tim,

Many thanks for the prompt reply.

Yes Active Sky does use its own server and it is always, or I have found so anyway, about 2 or 3 hours old, so if I fly for example [FS] at 1400hrs UK local Active Sky feeds weather into FS and produces METARs from somewhere around 1130/1230hrs and it then updates and evolves weather conditions for FS as time goes by but always with that 2 or so hour lag.

As I only fly now UK VFR/IFR [must keep the instrument rating current] light aircraft at best a flight may only last [in real time] 2 or 3 hours and so AS never catches up in time; I depart from Point A with weather two hours old and transit B,C,D [etc] and arrive at Point E in weather that is two hours old.

So if I select NWS within Plan G at least it will give me the correct [what is outside my window] weather etc and then I can use that to manually update/correct/override some of the settings within AS or even [dare I say] the default FS9 global weather download.

Thanks again

Regards
Peter