Hi guys,First off, GREAT THANKS to PMDG's professional Team for their marvellous products. They deserve only the best. Just one word - EXCELLENT! However, this excellency requires a lot of reading, understanding and practicing, of course. Keeping short, I'd like to get answer to one of the questions that I have discovered both while going through the 747's Ops Manual and simming [sometimes i think the questions will never end but on the other hand, what might be the best way of exploring and learning?]. Sorry if they have been asked before. This is one of them listed below. I'm gonna post others, if any [Wanna be sure that i'm not missing anything in the manual and add-ons User Guides]1. B744 OPS MANUAL, CHAPTER 2: In the example dealing with the step-by-step fuel planning on the KLAX-KJFK flight the authors recommend to consider the wind speed along route also to make the calculations more realistic. Surely, this is what the real pilots do - with all equipment and access to various data crucial for successful flight they certainly have more luck than the simmers. In this particular example the wx forecast promises a tailwind of about 75 knots during the whole flight. What about the long-haul flights? In terms of the distance the KLAX-KJFK flight is about the third of the distance from San Francisco (KSFO) to, let's say, Frankfurt (EDDF) (an actual United Airlines flight No.900). This makes me suspicious about the results of my fuel calculations and the precise quantity of fuel aboard in general. So, here's my question:QUESTION: How can I get any real-time en-route windsaloft data to use in flight planning calculations?Note: The FSBuild's tutorial on intl flight planning provides a link http://aviationweather.gov/hilvl/graf/pgie07_06_cl.gif to get average route winds information. But i assume information provided there is too complex at least for me to understand it. The same does ActiveSky (ASVEx) but only for the flight levels i'm not using during the flight. Other options or help?Thank you.P.S.: Sorry if the message was boring. Tried to provide background info that could be useful to understand the problem.RustamBina (Heydar Aliyev) Intl Airport, Baku Azerbaijan [uBBB]

If you have Activesky and FSBuild, I assume you do from your post, you can look here www.fsbuild.com/fsbtut/windstut.htm for how to set up Activesky to use winds data from activesky when it creates the plans.Hope this helps, otherwise it is quite difficult to get winds aloft data for your route - maybe someone else knows an easy way without activesky or fsmeteo?Hope this helpsRudy

Let me explain my way more fully to just to give you an idea:I use FS Build 2.21 and ActiveSkyVe.I create a flightplan in FSB, build it, and export to FS9.I can download current, archived from their survey or load interesting weather I archived after download (along with radar asnd situation maps from weather.com).With ActiveSky running and weather active I load the FSB plan I just created. I can now print a complete full NAVLOG showing winds-aloft along my route similar to what a dispatcher would use. Let AS keep running.In FSB I rebuild the plan (the aircraft is chosen and flight level, desired fuel extras (in minutes) for alternate, reserve, taxi, etc. ) and rebuild the plan which then fetches the weather data from the running ASVe.With FSB I can now print a NAVLOG showing fuel requirements (in Kg or Lbs) in total plus each category described above as well (plus flight, of course). This would now look like a dispatch report that would be used as a reference load parameters into the FMC. I reexport the plan to the PMDG folder and FS9 as well since it may have a different FL. It is then used with Radar Contact.Up to this point it should be noted that FS9 need not be running.In the FMC I import the route as company data and use the FSB and ASVe navlogs for entering FL and weather data into the appropriate performance pages for cruise, climb, TO, etc. using appropriately read temps and wind vectors.Now I use the 737NG series but the 747 FMC procedures and preflight data gathering for fuel planning and results should be similar.Several months ago Computer Pilot had a series of articles on programming the Boeing FMC and sample dispatch logs were shown. I also saw this in the Bel-Air 757 videos from Just Planes and another as well. The video went over the dispatch report and planning and just touched on the FMC. Both were enough for me to acquire FSB once I saw while I am still doing it myself playing the role of dispatcher it gave me reports a PIC and assistant would use.I generally save the AS weather state so I plan on a work night generating the route and reports and on a day off look and load the same weather and do the aircraft preflight and commence the flight. This saves time on flight day.Make sense?

Real world wx: winds forecasts, radar charts, etc:www.aviationweather.govfor winds aloft outside the U.S. click flight folder.louross.