Real-Time Weather: Aviation Simulations' New Horizon {Editor's Note: Every effort is being made to get all of the pages on line. Currently, the Icing, Thunderstorm, Turbulence, and Clouds pages are still in the works. We hope to have this project complete in the next few days.} Preface While you are free to jump directly to any page on this site, whether it be for a refresher or the current data, the pages have been laid out in a specific order so as to provide the best learning environment. Those without a firm background in aviation weather would be best served by taking the pages in the order presented the first time through. While programs allowing simulator pilots to use actual weather conditions have been around for years, the use of real-time weather has only come into its own with the release of Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2000 and Terminal Reality's Fly! For the first time, the use of actual weather conditions is expected to be the norm, not the exception. Some of the high quality third-party shareware programs now allow for continuous updating of weather conditions as an aircraft crosses the country or the globe. But like most good things in life, these new capabilities come at a cost. Simulation pilots now have to be well versed in weather and how it effects aircraft. Weather knowledge has been a major part of training for pilot licenses for quite some time. Just a glance at aviation accident reports shows why. Weather is a contributing factor in the majority of aviation accidents. That applies to both the general aviation and commercial aviation segments of modern air transportation. Now virtual pilots looking for the most realistic experience will have to be just as knowledgeable about aviation weather and effects as real world pilots. Real-time weather in flight simulation offers a great experience for those who ply the virtual airways, but pilots must be prepared.AVSIM Online hopes to ease the transition and provide a learning environment for those who choose to push the envelope. The AVSIM Online! Aviation Simulation Weather pages will cover the basics of flight weather along with specific flight hazards such as thunderstorms, turbulence, icing and low visibility. In addition, you will also find radar and satellite images, along with a set of weather calculators and converters. While focusing initially on the United States, we hope to add the same information for a host of other regions. But to make this a reality, we could use your help finding the needed links. If you have those links, or just some leads on the links, feel free to drop Chuck Boudreaux a note, including the links and information. These pages will not teach you all there is to know about aviation weather. But it will give you a comprehensive overview, as well as point you to the Internet sites holding the raw weather data you will need to professionally plan a virtual flight. If you would like a more in-depth lesson in weather aviation, check out our bibliography page. Below you will find short previews of the information to be covered as you progress through the AVSIM Online! Aviation Simulation Weather pages. Use the links within these descriptions, or those at the top of the page, to navigate through the weather tutorial. The first item we will study is the most basic, yet most important, of the weather products put out by the United States National Weather Service and other national weather providers. The METAR is an hourly update on conditions at most public airports across the country. Head to the METARs page to learn how to decipher the wealth of knowledge in METAR messages. Next up will be a look at wider scale surface conditions. With METARs, we looked at only the area right around your departure and arrival airports. With Surface Conditions, we will now look at the state and regional weather patterns. Here you will find the fronts, highs and lows often seen on local weather reports. With the study of surface conditions behind us, we begin to look at the atmosphere we may face aloft as we climb to, cruise along and finally descend from cruise levels. Often the conditions aloft may be far different from those near the ground. Head to the Conditions Aloft page to begin your study of upper-air weather features. Once you have a grasp of general conditions aloft, it is time to take a look at the weather phenomenon known as the Jet Stream. If you fly long enough, especially commercial airliners, you will have to deal with the rivers of air encircling the globe. The Jet Stream can be thought of as areas of rapids along those rivers of air. Just as navigating the rivers and rapids on the surface, the way one deals with these special conditions aloft requires special talents. With a good foundation in general aviation weather behind us, we will now turn to the four specific weather phenomenon which pose the most common threats to pilots and aircraft. Turbulence, thunderstorms, icing, and low visibility conditions can all be deadly if a pilot does not know how to recognize and deal with them. Here are links to Thunderstorm, Turbulence, Icing, and Low Visibility pages. Pay special attention here, it might just save the lives of lots of virtual passengers and the multi-million dollar aircraft entrusted to you by your VA. Yes, yes. We also have some of those neat black-and-white and color radar and satellite images. In fact, we have links to some of the top sites on the Internet for both. There are also a couple quick courses in how to use some of the lesser known varieties of images. The Radar images and Satellite images can be found via these links. Finally, we have some fine Weather Calculators to help make some of those pesky conversions and a Bibliography page for those who wish to continue the study of aviation weather. Enjoy your studies and aviation simulation in general. If you need it for aviation simulation, you can probably find it at AVSIM Online! (For Flight Simulation Use Only) |
