Fs2004 Weather Radar

Introduction


CS Weather Radar Key Features Works with any FSX aircraft Comes with WxR Editor tool for one-click installation removal Outstanding visual quality and realism DirectX 9 10 compatible Compatible with Ultimate Weather FX and REX weather add-ons For details please see User 39 s Manual Acrobat Reader required and watch.

GetWeather is a server program for MicrosoftFlight Simulator. Supported are all FS versions from 2000 up to 2006 FS-X. The program communicates with the Flightsimulator using the build in 'Real-World-Weather' function.

See the latest United States Doppler radar weather map including areas of rain, snow and ice. Our interactive map allows you to see the local & national weather. Fsx Weather Radar Gauge. 8/27/2020 0 Comments Energy will end up being eliminated at fixed price each secs and the fat of your plane reduced accordingly.If you like.

The main feature is: storing downloaded weather scenarios on hard disk for later reuse.

Fs2004 Weather Radar

To do so GetWeather gets into the connection between the Flightsimulator and the weather server at Jeppesen which provides the real weather data. Every time the 'Real-World-Weather' is used in the Flightsimulator it will communicate with GetWeather.

Track storms, and stay in-the-know and prepared for what's coming. Easy to use weather radar at your fingertips! WunderMap Radar. Customize, add layers and zoom in & out your animated radar with our interactive radar map. I am having the same issues with this product. Weather Radar does not work, no test patterns etc. OS is Windows 7 pro. Does not work in fsx or fs9 on my system, as well tested it on another windows 7 machine as well as an older windows xp box, Nothing! Any help to fix this issue would be most appreciated. FSX does not model the exact placement of every thunderstorm cell (so don’t use those cool Doppler radar charts from the TV station to dodge thunderstorms), but when a real-world storm hits an airport and changes the weather report at that airport, it is reflected in FSX the next time FSX downloads the airport’s weather.

As a result it is not necessary to connect to the internet every time you would like to get a new weather. You may just get a already existing file from the GetWeather server which may run somewhere on your local network or on your own computer. And you are ready to fly a bumpy approach ...

You can also download the latest real weather from the internet and GetWeather will save the data for later reuse on your local computer. Furthermore you can download the weather files within GetWeather without starting even your flightsimulator. That's a great feature if you just noticed a severe weather alert and would like to have this situation for later fun.

Get Weather is able to serve as many Flight simulators as you wish. It is the perfect tool to provide the same weather for all computers in a multiplayer environment. Download it once and all other clients just have to connect via the local network.

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Download

  • GetWeather 4.0 (for FS2000, FS2002, FS2004 and FS2006)
  • An example weather file

If you find GetWeather useful we ask you to donate a small amount of money to us. (e.g. 5 USD)
This helps us to keep the website running and to develop new programs. Please use Paypal to donate:

Thank you for your support.

NEWS Version 4.0

  • Support for Fligthsimulator X (FS2006) added.
  • Weather request are now restricted to the localhost per default.
  • Remote requests can be granted in the settings dialog.

News Version 3.0

  • Supports the Real World Weather feature of FS2004. The 15-minute update feature is not supportet completely. It should work, but can produce some short pauses when update the weather.
  • Sequential mode for sending subsequent files to the Flight Simulator.
  • Still full support for FS2000 and FS2002.

News Version 2.1

  • Fixed incompatibility with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1. Flightsimulator was no longer able to load stored weather files if the SP was installed. This SP is also part of the Windows XP Service Pack 1

News Version 2.0 Update 1

  • Fixed bug in setup program. The folder Weather was not created. On some computers GetWeather was unable to save the weather.

News Version 2.0

  • Fixed problem in saving weatherfiles which caused sometimes download breakdown at 95% of progress.
  • Logwindow will now add error class icons to the meassage text.
  • Added manual selection of FS directory to settings dialog. Used if automatic detection fails because of incorrect installation of FS.
  • Added new items to the FAQ section in this document
  • This version will not expire.

News Version 2.0 beta 2

  • Full support for FS2002.
  • The new FS2002 'Download winds aloft' option is now fully supported.
  • Settings are now automatically saved if the settings dialog is closed. In former versions settings were only saved if the program was exited.

News Version 2.0 beta 1

  • Basic support for brand new FS2002.
  • The new FS2002 'Download winds aloft' option is not fully supported yet.

News Version 1.4

  • Fixed problems caused by recent changes on Jeppesen Weather Server. Get Weather was unable to download the weather.
  • Fixed problem with html online help on systems using Netscape 6 as default browser.

News Final 1.3

  • Fixed minor bug in weather file list box which selected in some cases a wrong default entry at the end of the month.

News Final 1.2

  • Support for Microsoft's new server structure added

News Final 1.1

  • Fixed problem when canceling Get Current Weather: Further weather downloads were not possible
  • Incomplete downloaded files are no longer archived

News Beta 3

  • Fixed problem with FS2000 directory detection which caused the following error message:
    Unable to locate FS2000 please reinstall FS2000

News Beta 2

  • Easier proxy setup, it is no longer necessary to make changes in the windows control panel
  • automatic scheduled weather download.

Fsx Weather Radar Free

Installation

The installation of GetWeather is rather easy. Execute the file you have downloaded from the web server this program will install GetWeather on your system. The installation program will create a shortcut in your start menu.
On most computer GetWeather is now read to work together with the flight simulator. If your computer needs a proxy to access the internet you should check the proxy settings within getWeather.

Get detailed information about the proxy configuration in the configuration paragraph.

Configuration

All settings can be done using the Settings dialog (located in the menu bar of the main window of GetWeather).

General settings:

If you want GetWeather to be started every time you start windows you may check the corresponding check box. GetWeather will then be started minimized a tray icon will remind you that GetWeather is active.

It's also possible to specify a port for GetWeather. You need this only if the default port 80 is already in use by another program. (e.g. HTTP Server, WebWasher) You have to restart GetWeather to set the new settings for the server port.

When 'Check for new version' is active and you're connected to the Internet, GetWeather will inform you about newer versions of the program.

Flightsimulator Path:

GetWeather tries to determine the path in which the flightsimulator is installed. If the installation of FS is not correct this automatic detection may fail. GetWeather will report such a problem during startup in the log window.

If this happens you have to select the path yourself. First of all you have to enable the versions of FS you have installed on your system by using the check boxes. Then you use the browse buttons to find the location of the FS installation.

After you have selected the right path please restart GetWeather.

Proxy settings:

If you need a proxy server for the internet connection, you can specify it here. You will get the information's on the necessary proxy setting from your internet service provider or your system administrator.

You could also use the automatic detection for a very easy setup. GetWeather will get the necessary data form the windows control panel.

If you have used a former version of GetWeather before it is possible that the automatic setup fails. This could happen if you have changed the http proxy settings to 127.0.0.1 port 80. GetWeather will not be able to use this settings because it will end up in a circular recursion. If this happens to your computer you should change the proxy settings in the windows control panel to the original values as they were set before installing GetWeather 1.0 beta1.

The button 'Internet Settings' will get you right into the windows internet settings dialog and could be used for manual changes.

Using GetWeather

Most of the operations are done in the main window.

When running, GetWeather waits for Real-World-Weather requests coming from the Flightsimulator. It does not matter if Flightsimulator is installed locally or if connects to GetWeather over a network or even the Internet. You only have to ensure the proxy settings are configured properly on the workstation the Flightsimulator runs on. See Windows proxy settings .

The User Interface:

The User Interface consists of four parts:

  • Source chooses one of three operating modes .
  • The Information section shows the number of weather files in the chosen directory, the number of requests to GetWeather and the volume of data transferred.
  • The list shows the available weather files, it contains the following columns.
    • Date & Time: Date the file was downloaded from the internet
    • Type: Type of weather file.
      • Normal: Small version about 130 - 160 KB big. Used by FS2000, FS2002 and FS2004. Doesn't contain winds aloft information.
      • Winds Aloft: Larger version about 450 KB big. Used by FS2002 only if winds aloft is activated in real weather dialog.
    • Comment: A optional comment given by the user to recognize the weather scenario

The files are generated while downloading the weather from the Internet . This can be done either in the Internet Mode (if 'Archive Downloads' is selected and the Flightsimulator sends a request), or using 'Get Current Weather'. The weather files have the extension .fsw or .fsa for winds aloft data.

  • The message window logs errors and activities of GetWeather, 'Clear Log' deletes all messages. The log window will report the following message classes:

      • Error: A severe problem happened which need your attention. GetWeather will not work at all.

      Warning: A problem happened. Some parts or a operation of GetWeather may not work.

      Information: Information message. No further action required.

If the OK button is pressed, GetWeather runs in background mode and just displays a tray icon. In this mode the main window hides but GetWeather is still answering all requests of the Flightsimulator. A mouse click on the tray icon restores the main window.

'Exit' closes GetWeather.

The four operation modes of GetWeather:

In the 'Source' section the input type of data for the requests of the Flightsimulator is specified.

  • Internet: The Real-World-Weather will be downloaded from the Jeppesen Server and forwarded to the Flightsimulator. If 'Archive Downloads' is enabled the data are also stored locally for later reuse. The type of weather file depends on the setting in the real weather dialog of the Flightsimulator.
  • Stored File: If enabled, you choose one of the weather files in the local directory. This file is sent to the Flightsimulator if it requests 'Real-World-Weather'. If the type of the requested weather file doesn't fit the selected in FS a warning will be printed out. Anyway until now we noticed no problems even if FS2000 will receive winds aloft data.
  • Random: Sends a random selected file to the Flightsimulator.
  • Sequential File: GetWeather sends the selected file to the Flightsimulator. At the next request, the next file in the list will be sent. This enables you to send subequent files to the flight simulator.

The Comment Editor:

The Comment Editor is started using the button 'Info' in the main window or by double clicking to one of the list entries. The editor is used to add a short description and additional comments to a weather file. The short description will be shown in the main window's file list.

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Getting weather files from the Internet

The current weather can be retrieved in two different ways:

Using the Flightsimulator 2000:

Using the Flightsimulator 2002:


In FS2002 the check box which is marked with the red cross decides which type of weather will be downloaded. For users which have a low bandwidth internet connection we recommend to disable the check box because downloading winds aloft data will take a lot of time.

Using the Flightsimulator 2004 and 2006:

In FS2004, GetWeather fully supports the 'static' method of getting the weather. The 15-minute update mode is supported rudimentarily. It will work in internet-mode of GetWeather, but the 15-minute update files will not be stored when 'Archive Downloads' is selected. In the other modes short pauses during flight can happen.

In the Flightsimulator you have to activate the item 'Weather' in the 'World' menu. The button 'Real-World-Weather' connects to GetWeather.

Using GetWeather:

To get the weather data from the Internet for later usage, just press the 'Get Current Weather' button. The data is downloaded from Jeppesen and stored locally.
If the check box 'Download Windsaloft' is activated GetWeather will download the larger version of the weather file from the server. This option is only required for FS2002 users.
The selection will only control the type of weather downloaded by the scheduled download.

An example weather file can be downloaded from the Bearsoft web site.

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Scheduled Downloads

The menu entry 'Schedule' leads to the settings dialog for the automatic scheduled download. This function gives the possibility for automatic downloads of weather data at fixed time schedule.

The time of the download events can be specified in two ways:

  • every day at a fixed time
  • periodical

The 'Add'-button adds the selected event to the schedule list. In the example above the weather data will be downloaded every day at 20:15. Additionally it will be downloaded every 120 minutes. The downloaded files appear in the list in the main window automatically.

The automatic download function is only active when 'Enable Scheduled Downloads' is activated. After you have done the settings here, you can close the 'Download Schedule' dialog and return to the main window.

The functionality of GetWeather is not affected when scheduled downloads are enabled.

Note: The type of weather data downloaded could be specified in the main window of GetWeather.

Fs2004 Weather Radar Download

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Suddenly GetWeather doesn't work anymore. Flight simulator just prints out the error message 'Cannot find file specified' if the download button is hit. Whats wrong ?

This error happens if the menue item 'Offlinemode' in the 'File' menue of Internet Explorer is activated. Deactivate the item to solve the problem.

On long distance flights the weather changes very suddenly there are even areas without any weather. Is this Get Weathers fault ?

Get Weather just path the weather without any modification through. The weather model of FS2000 and FS2002 is not perfect. The transition between the different weather cells is not very smooth. It could happen that you fly in one moment in a total overcastted sky up to the horizon and suddenly there is a clear sky. It could also happen that there are areas without any weather activity. GetWeather has no influence on this behavior.

Is the weather loaded only for the current location ?

No, the flightsimulator loads the weather for the whole virtual earth. Also GetWeather will always download the weather for the whole globe. If you switch between Airports it is not required to load once again the weather. On long distance flight it makes sense to update the weather sometimes because the weather will change over time. GetWeather is able to download the weather periodical from the internet. At the moment there is no way to update the weather in flightsimulator automatically.

I don't have internet on my flightsimulator computer. But I have access to the internet somewhere else. Can I use GetWeather ?

Yes you can. Install GetWeather on both computers. You just can ignore the error message that FS can't be located on your internet computer. Download the weather using the 'Get Current Weather' Buttons from the internet. GetWeather will store the weather files in the directory which is displayed in the 'Files in' text field. Copy the .fsw and .fsa files to a disk and transfer them to your Flightsimulator computer.
On this computer copy the files to the directory which is displayed in the 'Files in' text field. Restart GetWeather.
Please notice that TCP/IP has to be installed on your flightsimulator computer. GetWeather will report otherwise a error that it can't work. If you don't have a network card or modem installed on that computer please install the Remote Access Network just as a dummy.

GetWeather reports that it can't find FS2000 nor FS2002. But I can start FS without any problems. What's wrong ?

Sometimes the registry entries for FS are missing or incomplete. This could happen if Windows was reinstalled without running the FS installation program. The problem may also come up if you run different versions of Windows on your computer and you haven't run the FS installation on all versions.
In this case you can manually select the path in the GetWeather settings dialog. After restarting GetWeather everything should be fine.

GetWeather reports at startup 'Port 80 already in use'. What's wrong ?

By default GetWeather uses the TCP/IP Port 80. On some computers this port is already in use by other programs (e.g. Microsoft Internet Information Server, Apache Web server) If this happens you should assign a different Port e.g. 81 in the GetWeather settings dialog. After restarting GetWeather this error message will disappear and the program should work properly.

How does GetWeather gets in touch with FS2000 and FS2002?

Whenever GetWeather is started it will alter some weather server entries in the FS200X configuration file fs200x.cfg. The following values are changed:

WeatherServerAddress=fs2k.zone.com -> 127.0.0.1
WeatherServerPort=80 -> Port used by GetWeather

If the program ends all changes are restored to the original values. If GetWeather could not be quitted probably (e.g. crash of system) GetWeather will detect the problem and will restore the values at the next start of GetWeather.

Known problems

15-minute update mode of FS2004 and FS2006 implemented quite rudimentarily. In Internet mode, update files will not be stored. In the other modes of GetWeather short breaks during flight could happen. Feedback welcome!

Please report any problems to the Bearsoft support team .

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License

The current version of GetWeather is freeware. The program is provided as is without any warranty. Use the program at your own risk. We are not liable for any damage which is caused directly or indirectly by this software.

Fs2004 Weather Radar Gauge

Flightsimulator 2000, 2002, 2004 and FS-X are registered trademarks of Microsoft.

The weather data is provided by Jeppesen

If anybody thinks that we violate any rights of others, please contact us immediately by e-mail at support@bearsoft.de . We don't intend to violate any trademarks or copyrights with GetWeather.

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Contact

We appreciate questions, critics or any other hint of any kind.

Milviz Wx Advantage Radar Unit

Home page: www.bearsoft.de
Support: support@bearsoft.de

Rosenheim, 07th of August, 2003

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weather3.zip
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FS2004 Weather3 - 39 weather themes for FS2004. A complete revision of the previous releases; 15 new themes have been added. File sizes have been greatly reduced. By Adrian Shortall.
39 WEATHER THEMES FOR FS2004
This pack contains a complete revision of the 2 earlier theme releases (weather1.zip & weather2.zip), plus 11 new winter themes, and 3 new miscellaneous themes. This revision has greatly reduced the individual and total file sizes.
OVERVIEW:
The weather themes in this pack are suitable for VFR & IFR simming within FS2004.
TO INSTALL:
1. If you are installing these themes for the first time:
Move or copy all files from the 'Weather' folder to your FS2004WeatherThemes folder. That's all. The themes will then be available from the menu in World--Weather.
2. If you have one or both of the previous releases:
You might care to archive the previous versions, in the event you prefer some of those to the current release. However, I doubt that you'll find any of the older versions better than the new.
Overwrite the old files with this release in your FS2004WeatherThemes folder. You will notice a marked reduction in total file size.
Deletion: I've deleted the earlier themes 'Cirrostratus' and 'Ice Aloft' from the package.
TO ACTIVATE:
From the World menu, choose Weather, and select a theme from the list provided.
TO UNINSTALL:
Each theme consists of 3 files: a .wt file, a .WTB file, & a .bmp file. If you dislike a theme and wish to delete it, simply open your FS2004WeatherThemes folder and remove the 3 files associated with it.
For handy reference, you might wish to print this document.
LIMITATIONS:
Although FSim has made significant advances in recent years, many major improvements remain to be realised. These include the weather engine, ATC, mesh accuracy and landclass fidelity. Some limitations will likely remain endemic. For example, although airport elevations in the sim are mostly accurate, low-level mesh data often puts airports in deep holes, and the colossal file sizes of accurate mesh data practically preclude much improvement in this department. In the weather department, we still lack volumetric clouds, ATIS accuracy, an accurate portrayal of weather theme data, realistic virga, realistic thunderstorm depiction, etc. The weather themes in this pack are subject to these limitations.
DISCUSSION:
Some of the themes produce weather not immediately apparent, but encountered in flight. Others resemble Microsoft's default set, with conditions globalised and more or less apparent from the outset. Also, refer to the notes on 'RAM data retention' below.
In the following descriptions, I have suggested the appropriate season for each theme, the possible flight rules (IFR or VFR), and my estimate of each theme's Degree of Difficulty (DOD), ranging from 1, easy, to 10, very difficult. You should set the appropriate season in the FS9 menu choice--Time & Season. The difficulty level will be especially relevant for simmers who use addon-programs that penalise flight errors.
THE THEMES:
1. Altocumulus. Cumulus cloud to 5 oktas with a bilayered effect, light winds and high visibility. The display is especially spectacular around dawn & dusk. Lower level cloud will be to ground over high terrain. VFR flight in clear sky can be conducted below/between/above the layers. Late spring, summer, early autumn. DOD: 1.
2. Altostratus. Heavy stratus to 7 oktas, base around FL210, tops around FL390. Visibility around 50km, decaying with altitude increase. Light scattered showers. VFR best at lower altitudes. Wind N-W, 10-25kts. DOD: 2.
3. Charlie Bravos Ahead. Features scattered thunderstorms at mid-altitudes, encountered around 40nm from your departure point. CAUTION: The realistic temperature decrease with altitude means that icing is probable in rain above the freezing level. If your aircraft is not equipped with anti-icing, avoid such flight, or detour around the storm cells. There should also be minor barometric fluctuations in stormy regions. Summer. IFR or VFR. DOD: 6-8.
4. Cirrocumulus. High altitude cloud to around FL450, with unlimited visibility, perfect VFR conditions. Wind westerly, 10-20kts. Late spring, summer, early autumn. DOD: 1.
5. Cirrus Days. High cirrus cloud & light southerly winds make for pleasant VFR flight weather. Late spring, summer, early autumn. DOD: 1.
6-9. Fair Easterly, etc. These 4 themes provide a choice of winds (tail or otherwise) to 25kts from the main compass directions, with good flight conditions. Useful for short- to medium-haul flights. Late spring, summer, early autumn. IFR or VFR. DOD: 1.
10-13. High Winds E-W, etc. These 4 themes provide a choice of very strong high-altitude winds (tail or otherwise) to 70kts from the main compass directions. Especially useful for transcontinental, transoceanic & other long-haul flights. The winds increase in velocity with altitude, maxing at around FL350. Turbulence also increases with altitude & wind velocity, but remains fairly mild. Cumulus to 4 oktas and high cirrus accompany the winds. Late spring, summer, early autumn. IFR or VFR. DOD: 2.
14. Hot Tropical Day. Mainly for equatorial & sub-equatorial regions, with an apron temp. of 35*C. Winds light southerly. High humidity decreases visibility somewhat, and piston, non-turbocharged aircraft suffer some performance loss. Summer. IFR or VFR. DOD: 3.
15. Light Summer Rain. Few problems here, with light rain from high cloud in otherwise clear skies. Light easterly winds. IFR or IFR. Summer. DOD: 2.
16. Low Pressure System. A dramatic theme with traps for unwary high-altitude flyers, especially if IFR. The weather is very variable, with sheering winds, scattered showers and variable visibility. The old adage remains true: 'From high to low, look out below.' The altimeter rule is: Wind-on pressure, wind-on height; wind-off pressure, wind-off height. (Hint: the sim's transition level is FL180). Late spring, summer, early autumn. IFR & hazardous VFR. DOD: 8-10.
17. Mean Cold Front. A cold front confined to a band around 50nm wide (you can fly through it). Winds variable southerly. IFR or hazardous VFR. Summer. DOD: 6.
18. Nimbostratus. Heavy widespread rain and moderate turbulence, with icing probable above the freezing level, and visibility often greatly reduced. Instrument approaches required at most airports. Late spring, summer, early autumn. IFR only. DOD: 8-10.
19. Precison Approach. A more severe variation of 'Solid IMC', described below. Here, ground visibility is down to 1nm (approx. 1.6km). Precison instrument approaches are required at all airports equipped with them. Winds are northerly L/V. Early spring & autumn. DOD: 10
20. Scud Runner. A band of low dense stratus accompanied by rain showers forms along your track, inviting low or high flight to avoid it. Winds are mostly southerly. Summer. IFR or hazardous VFR. DOD: 4.
21. Severe Cold Front. A global front (you can't fly through it) producing testing flight conditions. The dramatic temperature drop in the front is conducive to aircraft icing. Winds are mostly southerly, with dense low & high-altitude cloud. IFR or hazardous VFR. Summer. DOD: 7-10.
22. Solid IMC. Solid foggy weather with light northerly winds for practising your IFR departures & arrivals. Ground visibility is down to 10nm (approx. 16km). Suitable for non-precision Instrument approaches at most airports. Early spring & autumn. DOD: 8-10.
23. Southerly Buster. Nasty sheer and turbulence here in a band around 40nm wide, primarily a problem if you have to land within it. Summer. IFR or VFR. DOD: 6.
24. Squall. This theme features testing weather that has settled over a trough, approximately 80nm wide, around 30nm into your flight. Low stratus and heavy cumulus both produce heavy showers, without icing. Winds are swinging southerlies to 45 knots, with gusts to 25 knots. Weather beyond the trough is fairly settled, though with minor barometric fluctuations requiring frequent altimeter attention. Summer. IFR or hazardous VFR. DOD: 5-8.
25. Summer in Dubai. A theme for hot, dry regions, especially deserts in summer. Apron temp. is 45*C; wind is light & variable; visibility unlimited. Expect some performance loss due to the conditions. IFR or VFR. DOD: 2
26. The Unexpected. Extremely variable weather offers challenges for novices and experts alike. Arrivals after long-distance flights can be very testing. Summer. DOD: regionally dependent, 6-10.
27. Virga. Light rain and variable cumulus cloud, with winds swinging from south to west. No icing evident. Summer. IFR or VFR. DOD: 3.
28. Winter Cold Front. Departing in fine weather, you encounter a strong cold front with reported severe icing in snow. Winds are variable northerly, with turbulence in the front. You should see cumulus cloud (warm air) pushed high above stratus (cold frontal air). Cb cells are embedded. IFR and hazardous VFR. Winter. DOD: 10.
29-32. Winter Easterly, etc. 4 wind-defined themes suitable for regions subject to snow and zero ground temperature. Expect icing above 6000' AGL. Winds around 25 knots above 3000' AGL, with occasional marked directional shifts. IFR or hazardous VFR. Winter. DOD: 10.
33-36. Winter No Ice Easterly, etc. As above, but without icing. Winter. IFR or VFR. DOD: 6.
37. Winter Landscape. Mostly clear conditions, minor snowfalls, light winds, nil icing and high visibility make for pleasant flights, especially over mountainous terrain, such as the Himalayas, European Alps, US Coastal range, US Rockies, and the Andes. IFR or VFR. DOD: 2.
38. Winter Low Pressure. A significant low pressure system has moved into your region. Expect flight conditions typical of such systems, including some wild pressure (altimeter) transitions and wind-direction shifts. Winter. IFR or hazardous VFR. DOD: 8-10.
39. Winter Nimbostratus. Heavy rain, moderate turbulence, low visibility and probable icing. IFR only, with precision approaches often required. DOD: 10.
WEATHER ISSUES
1. ICING
FS9 simulates 2 kinds of icing: pitot freezing and airframe ice. The effects can be dramatic (and lethal!).
A. Pitot tube icing instantly produces a loss of indicated airspeed (IAS). If throttle/power is coupled to the autopilot/flight director, there is an immediate turbine/engine surge because of the apparent zero IAS, and V(N) can rapidly be exceeded. Unless hearing-impaired, you should hear the resulting surge.
The fix involves preventative and immediate actions.
Prevention:
(1) Never fly in known or possible icing conditions if your aircraft is not equipped with pitot-heat and anti-icing;
(2) Study the weather forecast (or theme) prior to flight, and visualise the probable impending conditions;
(3) IMPERATIVE: Know your aircraft's throttle/power settings to produce a required IAS at takeoff, in cruise, and on approach to landing;
(4) Consistently monitor the outside air temperature (OAT) and weather, especially for signs of precipitation at or above the freezing level; and
(5) Consistantly scan the panel, to detect the zero IAS.
Immediate action:
Uncouple speed control from the autopilot/flight director, and reset the power % or rpm to the desired level. Thereafter, 'hand-fly' the aircraft until you are into non-icing conditions. Assuming the aircraft is not iced, the altitude hold, etc, is not affected by icing conditions. Never trust a 'returned IAS' unless you are in non-icing conditions--the pitot often re-freezes. The IAS loss is especially problematic in the landing phase. Here, your GPS can be invaluable. A few glances at it will reveal your ground speed. This, combined with an allowance for wind speed and direction, gives a fairly accurate indication of airspeed. Similarly, if your aircraft lacks one, a windspeed/direction indicator (an addon available at major sim websites) is a valuable instrument in these circumstances.
B. Airframe icing produces a gradual decrease in airspeed (indicated or not) and a rise in aircraft pitch, both towards the stall. At the stall, your aircraft's response will depend upon its forward or aft COG. I fly the Stratojet Excalibur, which has its engines (and COG) far aft, and controls pitch via (nose) canards. At the iced-stall it pitches up, loses all pitch control, sinks aftwards, and no amount of power can undo the stall.
2. ATIS AND THE THEMES
The departure & arrival ATIS often bear no resemblance to the current weather theme, regardless of how long the theme has been active. For example, after a 500nm flight you will arrive to find the ATIS declaring 'No cloud beneath 20,000 feet; visibility 20nm,' when the airport is obscured by heavy rain from thunderstorms. This appears to be a bug or sim anomaly. Similarly, the active runway is often contrary to the prevailing wind, and you might be compelled to land with a 20-30 knots tailwind. This is especially the case when AI aircraft are using the airport. Evidently, the sim's ATC cannot divert AI aircraft from an assigned runway, which remains active regardless of changed weather conditions. As far as I can figure it--and feel free to comment on this--there appears to be a 128nm 'active runway radius'. Any AI aircraft within the circle defined by this radius keep the assigned runway active, so that, at busy airports, it never changes, regardless of changed weather. You can test this for yourself. The longest I've waited for a runway change due to changed wind direction at a busy airport is 3 hours . . . but in vain.
3. LAPSE RATE, DEWPOINT & CLOUD
From my observations, in most situations the sim uses the Standard Atmospheric Lapse Rate (SALR) of around 2*C per 1000' change in altitude--cooling on altitude increase, warming on decrease. Cloud more or less appears at the dewpoint set in the theme, not automatically at 0*C. The sim radically alters the lapse rate according to the surface pressure setting, and sets clouds far beyond parameters set in the theme.
4. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
Situational awareness applies in all themes, just as it does in real-world flight. For example, cloud 5000' AGL at a coastal resort could be cloud-on-ground at high-altitude airports.
SUNDRIES
PRESENTATION. Since clouds feature in most of the themes, you might need to experiment with weather settings to obtain the best FPS. A high setting for cloud density is especially hard on the frame rate, whereas a high value for sight-distance appears to be much less so.
The weather change-rate (in Options/Settings/Weather) is a matter of personal preference. However, the MILD setting somewhat diminishes effects set in themes, whilst VERY HIGH produces abrupt, unrealistic transitions. That said, regardless of the setting, FS9 still has trouble smoothing transitions between weather regions (grids 16km x 16km), especially where dramatically different conditions prevail. Hence, experiment with the various change rates and find one to your liking.
RAM DATA RETENTION. FS9 is notorious for refusing to RAM-dump, even after closing. This causes data from (1) a current weather theme or (2) a saved situation including its weather, to be retained in the next chosen theme. Apart from making scenery designs and weather themes very difficult to flight-test and debug, this causes several anomalies. (1) The weather becomes infuriatingly unpredictable. (2) If you are flying IFR, any variant altimeter settings will cause ATC to zap you with the dreaded 'above/below your assigned altitude.' Tapping the <B> key fixes this. (3) It produces weird situations. For example, an airport set to IFR minima in a theme will suddenly appear in brilliant sunshine, with ATC denying landing permission to VFR aircraft! I've not found a fix for this problem, which also occurs if you choose and set 'User Defined Weather.' However, during longer flights ( >200nm ), the sim usually restores the chosen theme, though the arrival ATIS typically remains bizarre.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
1. 'Xtreme Real Life Lightning 2 FS2004' by Sim Aero Pilot 2004, obtainable from the major FSim websites. Derived from actual lightning strikes, the textures are far superior to the default ones, with dramatic effects in cumulonimbus conditions. The near-aircraft strikes are astonishing.
2. High framerate cloud textures. Several packs are available from the major FSim websites, by authors including Bart Dylkiewicz, Gerrit Kranenbarg and the FSW GROUP.
I hope you enjoy these themes.
Adrian Shortall.

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The archive weather3.zip has 124 files and directories contained within it.

File Contents

This list displays the first 500 files in the package. If the package has more, you will need to download it to view them.

Filename/DirectoryFile DateFile Size
Weather 3.txt11.14.0516.87 kB
FILE_ID.DIZ11.14.05205 B
Weather3.doc11.14.0518.20 kB
weather themes11.14.050 B
Altocumulus.bmp12.14.0491.83 kB
Altocumulus.wt07.28.05246 B
Altocumulus.WTB07.28.0516.59 kB
Altostratus.bmp12.31.0491.83 kB
Altostratus.wt07.30.05203 B
Altostratus.WTB07.30.0516.59 kB
Cbs_Ahead.bmp06.04.0491.83 kB
Cbs_ahead.wt08.07.05241 B
Cbs_ahead.WTB08.07.05147.84 kB
Cirrocumulus.bmp12.16.0491.83 kB
Cirrocumulus.wt07.29.05166 B
Cirrocumulus.WTB07.29.0520.93 kB
Cirrus Days.bmp06.09.0491.83 kB
Cirrus Days.wt07.28.05136 B
Cirrus Days.WTB07.28.0520.93 kB
Fair Easterly.bmp12.31.0491.83 kB
Fair Easterly.wt07.29.05168 B
Fair Easterly.WTB07.29.0516.59 kB
Fair Northerly.bmp12.08.0491.83 kB
Fair Northerly.wt07.29.05171 B
Fair Northerly.WTB07.29.0516.59 kB
Fair Southerly.bmp12.31.0491.83 kB
Fair Southerly.wt07.29.05171 B
Fair Southerly.WTB07.29.0516.59 kB
Fair Westerly.bmp12.31.0491.83 kB
Fair Westerly.wt07.29.05168 B
Fair Westerly.WTB07.29.0516.59 kB
High Winds E-W.bmp12.31.0491.83 kB
High Winds E-W.wt07.29.05233 B
High Winds E-W.WTB07.29.0520.93 kB
High Winds N-S.bmp12.31.0491.83 kB
High Winds N-S.wt07.29.05236 B
High Winds N-S.WTB07.29.0520.93 kB
High Winds S-N.bmp12.31.0491.83 kB
High Winds S-N.wt07.29.05235 B
High Winds S-N.WTB07.29.0520.93 kB
High Winds W-E.bmp12.31.0491.83 kB
High Winds W-E.wt07.29.05233 B
High Winds W-E.WTB07.29.0520.93 kB
Hot Tropical Day.bmp07.07.0591.83 kB
Hot Tropical Day.wt07.29.05130 B
Hot Tropical Day.WTB07.29.0522.12 kB
Light Summer Rain.bmp07.20.0591.83 kB
Light Summer Rain.wt07.29.05141 B
Light Summer Rain.WTB07.29.0520.93 kB
Low Pressure System.bmp12.11.0491.83 kB
Low Pressure System.wt08.07.05202 B
Low Pressure System.WTB08.07.05235.83 kB
Meanfrnt.bmp06.05.0491.83 kB
Meanfrnt.wt08.10.05152 B
Meanfrnt.WTB08.10.05145.48 kB
Nimbostratus.bmp12.31.0491.83 kB
Nimbostratus.wt08.16.05298 B
Nimbostratus.WTB08.16.0518.96 kB
Precision Approach.bmp08.29.0591.83 kB
Precision Approach.wt09.02.05190 B
Precision Approach.WTB09.02.052.81 kB
Scud Runner.bmp06.09.0491.83 kB
Scud Runner.wt07.29.05154 B
Scud Runner.WTB07.29.05182.26 kB
Severe Cold Front.bmp05.01.0591.83 kB
Severe Cold Front.wt08.10.05126 B
Severe Cold Front.WTB08.10.0596.06 kB
Solid_IMC.bmp06.06.0491.83 kB
Solid_IMC.wt08.07.05153 B
Solid_IMC.WTB08.07.0516.59 kB
Squall.bmp06.09.0491.83 kB
Squall.wt08.23.05219 B
Squall.WTB08.23.0583.04 kB
Sthbust.bmp06.05.0491.83 kB
Sthbust.wt09.28.05175 B
Sthbust.WTB09.28.0554.85 kB
Summer in Dubai.bmp09.18.0591.83 kB
Summer in Dubai.wt09.18.05196 B
Summer in Dubai.WTB09.18.052.81 kB
The Unexpected.bmp01.03.0591.83 kB
The Unexpected.wt08.06.05212 B
The Unexpected.WTB08.06.05212.81 kB
Winter Cold Front.bmp04.11.0591.83 kB
Winter Cold Front.wt08.07.05158 B
Winter Cold Front.WTB08.07.05100.27 kB
Winter Easterly.bmp02.05.0591.83 kB
Winter Easterly.wt08.15.05232 B
Winter Easterly.WTB08.15.0520.93 kB
Winter Landscape.bmp02.05.0591.83 kB
Winter Landscape.wt11.06.05192 B
Winter Landscape.WTB11.06.052.81 kB
Winter Low Pressure.bmp02.10.0591.83 kB
Winter Low Pressure.wt08.11.05203 B
Winter Low Pressure.WTB08.11.05100.27 kB
Winter Nimbostratus.bmp04.11.0591.83 kB
Winter Nimbostratus.wt08.16.05305 B
Winter Nimbostratus.WTB08.16.0518.96 kB
Winter No Ice Easterly.bmp02.26.0591.83 kB
Winter No Ice Easterly.wt08.15.05243 B
Winter No Ice Easterly.WTB08.15.0520.93 kB
Winter No Ice Northerly.bmp03.24.0591.83 kB
Winter No Ice Northerly.wt08.15.05244 B
Winter No Ice Northerly.WTB08.15.0520.93 kB
Winter No Ice Southerly.bmp03.24.0591.83 kB
Winter No Ice Southerly.wt08.15.05244 B
Winter No Ice Southerly.WTB08.15.0520.93 kB
Winter No Ice Westerly.bmp02.26.0591.83 kB
Winter No Ice Westerly.wt08.15.05237 B
Winter No Ice Westerly.WTB08.15.0520.93 kB
Winter Northerly.bmp02.06.0591.83 kB
Winter Northerly.wt08.15.05233 B
Winter Northerly.WTB08.15.0520.93 kB
Winter Southerly.bmp04.13.0591.83 kB
Winter Southerly.wt08.15.05233 B
Winter Southerly.WTB08.15.0520.93 kB
Winter Westerly.bmp02.05.0591.83 kB
Winter Westerly.wt08.15.05230 B
Winter Westerly.WTB08.15.0520.93 kB
Virga.bmp06.09.0491.83 kB
Virga.wt08.06.05114 B
Virga.WTB08.06.0516.59 kB
WEATHER310.28.050 B
flyawaysimulation.txt10.29.13959 B
Go to Fly Away Simulation.url01.22.1652 B

Installation of Add-on Aircraft/Scenery

Most of the freeware add-on aircraft and scenery packages in our file library come with easy installation instructions which you can read above in the file description. For further installation help, please see our Knowledge Center for our full range of tutorials or view the README file contained within the download.

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