>Just out of curiosity, what are the main differences between>Reality's wx radar and the wx radar included in Active Sky?In short, Reality's is a weather radar _system_, Active Sky's is not. This will probably be contested by some, and I must give it to AS that it is a good add-on they have made considering that their main goal is weather making and not weather detection. Furthermore, Reality offers an easy way to install theirs as a gauge, and I believe (don't qoute me on that) that the frame rate hit is considerably lower than that of Active Sky's. Overall I would say that the difference is comparable to that of the default MSFS737 and PMDG737. The default one is okay, good and enjoyable to fly, but it isn't really a 737 from a system point of view. It get's you from A to B in a transport jet kind of fashion and that's all. Both radars are generic though, so if you want a true Boeing overlay you have to wait for PMDG to make up their minds as they haven't went public with any of their intentions yet. As previously stated by someone in this thread no one really knows exactly what to expect in the 744. It is my opinion that MSFS have still to go some way before a generic weather radar system makes logical sense (in the meaning that it is to be used for severe weather avoidance), so the only justification I can spot to implement one in the PMDG 737/747 would be from a systems point of view, which would imply that PMDG has to go out of their way and simulate a true non-generic Boeing radar system. And THIS, at it seems, is no simple matter so I can understand if it is considered low priority by some. Still, it could be kind of cute to have one :-)Until that final day arrives, if you want to study the basics of a generic weather radar system I don't think Active Sky's radar will appeal to you that much. You should go for Reality's. If, on the other hand, you are more inclined towards the specialized Boeing overlay that nobody sells today, but hopefully will soon, I think you should give the AS version a go in the wait. AS2004 offers so much in the weather rendering department that you're bound to celebrate the whole ordeal no matter what./seb

Hi there Seb,Thanks for your very informative answer! Maybe that wasn't clear in my previous posts, but I'm already a very happy owner of AS2004 and I consider it one of the best add-on's for FS I've spent my money on together with PMDG's 737 of course ;-) Think it's fun to have a look at the wx radar included in AS once in a while but as discussed in your post I don't see the real deal why spend money on a "real" wx radar until you will also have some real use for it. But then again, that's just my 2 cents...All the best,

Hi Mattias,you may want to have a look at the following thread:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...39185&mode=fullMichael

Hi Randy,Thanks for your message. I appreciate your point of view and me too I hope one day some bright mind will develop a realistic WX radar.ThanksMichael

Whats the first thing you do before you plan your flight or jump into your plane?you check ATIS, yes you check the WEATHER!the weather is one of the most important aspects of flight and flight planning, don't know why no commercial developer has seen this as a crucial piece of information necessary for flight especially in flightsim. Its in all real live commercial jets, why not PMDG's?

Hi Clayton,You are perfectly right, but the Wx Radar is not what will help you plan your flight. This is why AS2004 is becoming a vital tool for flight planning it gives you all necessary information to make an accurate flight plan whether it is the weather condition at the airport of departure or the winds aloft enroute and therefore the fuel projection. Combined with FSBuild you get in my opinion a fairly good flight plan / dispatch report.Hope this help.Michael

Yup but you need a radar has weather can change enroute, especially an 8 hr flight, with a radar you can choose an alternate, just like the real thing :(

Does someone of you guys know if there is a program somewhere that can convert PMDG's flighplans to a format AS2004 can read, ie rte=>pln?TIA,

Hi,No, unless I missed something down the road there is no rte-->pln converter. However FSBuild does the job of converting flight plans to whatever format you need. You can input the route you programmed in the PMDG FMC in FSBuild and export it as a PLN format.Anyone has a better solution?Michael

Clayton,Sorry if I misunderstood your original question I thought you were talking about preparing a flight plan. Of course a WX radar would help somewhat for a re-routing however you would still need some hard data which AS 2004 and also FS Flight Keeper for that matter are giving you. Is that not so also that a WX Radar will show weather events up to a certain distance in front of the plane. Would that be sufficient for your purpose? I personally doubt but that is my own opinion.Michael

Hi Michael,Will the older freeware version of FSBuild do this or do I need to buy the current version of FSBuild to have this functionality?

Hi Richard,I am affraid I have to pass on this one. I don't have the old version of FSBuild. The newer version does it however. Anyone can enlight Richard?Michael

FSNav can be used for all your listed purposes:1/ Create your flight plan2/ Export it to FS 20043/ Convert the same to PMDG format4/ You can then open your regular FS9 flight plan within AS2004 and do your weather download.On the debate on whether a WX radar is useful or not, the answer certainly is (at this time) NO... However could anybody explain what an empty passenger cabin is made for in FS, or a flushing toilet, or windscreen wipers, and so on...?I humbly think that WX radar -whether useful or not- would certainly have a priority on the items listed above to name just a very few! That's what "as realistic as it can get" would mean I guess.

Hi Jean-Claude,Thanks for your tip about FSNavigator, have thought about it not only for the flight planning but also for it's moving map - do you find it useful and well working?For the wx radar debate - well said!! Hope some of the developers thinking about adding wx radar or not read your post.Cheers,

Hello Richard,I have been using FSNav for the past year or so and am totally satisfied with it, including the moving map which I have on a separate monitor available at all times. It is especially useful when you happen to be landing at an airport where ILS frequencies are not available on your FMC or when you fly without one.Incidentally, you can also download the free version of FS Build and use its database of flightplans which can be converted into FSNav, PMDG 737 and FS9, hence are usable as well in AS2004. Have a great day!