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Guest frankathl

Active Sky Wx Summary

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Guest frankathl

Hi,I would like to know how wind direction and speed is calculated in the summary chart below(from the bottom of the AS4.5 wx report. Sorry, but I cannot get it to format properly :-()? Is this an average value based on the values for the different flight levels from the wx reporting stations along the route? Looking at the reported temperatures, it seems that all of the reported winds are for CRZ level only(else I would strongly advise against attempting a landing at Heathrow during the hurricane. :-)).Also, my ground speeds are a little out of whack, the reason being that they are based upon a single manually entered KTAS value(450 knots).These questions arose for me mainly because I am currently using the 2.2 beta version of FSBuild, which is able to process input from AS to calculate winds and fuel, and I noticed that the reported winds are quite different for each waypoint in each of the programs.While I am extremely happy with the functionality of Active Sky(who wouldn

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Hi Frank,They are based on the altitude in the FP. You are using B193 correct?You are right in saying that the climb and descent winds will be different. FSB 2.2 should give you the actual winds for the non-cruise parts.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg

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Frank,When you are referring to the winds reported in FSBuild 2.2, I assume you mean the winds listed at each waypoint in the navlog?I've never been able to get the winds in the navlog to match the winds reported in ActiveSky. They are often close, but never the same. My testing shows that Activesky is reporting the correct winds. Therefore, I use the navlog for fuel planning and such, but I don't expect exact accuracy and I increase my reserves when I'm in a headwind scenario.This may be an issue to bring up on the FSBuild website forum.Bruce

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Guest frankathl

Thanks for your reply, Jim!No, I'm still using B174. Could that be an issue?Best wishes,Frank

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Guest frankathl

Hi Bruce,Yes, I mean the winds reported in the Winds column for each waypoint in the FSBuild 2.2 flight plan. I've only just started to use 2.2, but I agree with you that the winds are fairly close, but not the same as those reported in Active Sky.By the way, I would be very interested in how you use the winds to plan fuel, if you wouldn't mind? Do you just take the cruise winds and calculate an average enroute wind component, or is it more complicated than that? Do you also take winds in the climb and descent phase into account? Many thanks,Frank

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Guest frankathl

Thanks, Jim. Will do this evening.Best wishes,Frank

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Frank,This is off topic for the message thread, but I'll attempt to answer and if you have questions, please ask on the FS Build forum at http://www.fsbuild.comI assume you have the FSBuild AS2004 option pointing to your ASV folder if you are reading the saved wx file and getting winds that are close.To plan fuel, you need to select the aircraft you are using from the FSB Aircraft folder. FSBuild ships with a selection of aircraft types. I'm using the PMDG 737 and I found the update for this aircraft at the FSBuild website. On the takeoff/landing_data tab (bottom of the aircraft folder selection) you'll see the drop down selection to choose your aircraft. Once that is done, you'll move to the right side and enter the payload weight. Normally, the program will automatically add alternate fuel if an alternate airport is listed in the plan. I have my reserve set at :45 to always add an extra 45 minutes of fuel to the plan. I also manually input either :10 or :15 into the Taxi Fuel box depending on how long I estimate the taxi phase will take (sometimes longer at busy airports). Once all of this data is entered, make sure the weight in FS matches gross weight in the aircraft tab of FSB.Now you are set to plan the flight. Enter the departure and Destination. I'll use EGLL going to EHAM. When I do this, I automatically get EBBR as the alternate. When I choose Auto Generate, a stored route is found and displays in the plan input box. I get EGLL BPK UR123 CLN UL620 REDFA EHAM. At this point nothing appears in the navlog since a plan has not been built. Click the Build button, and you'll see that the status box shows the Aircraft performance is loaded, the winds are loaded, then the plan is processed and crossing restrictions checked.Now the navlog is complete. This is what the top of my navlog looks like: FSBUILD FLIGHT PLANFLT REL IFR EGLL/EHAM MACH 78 A/C B737-700 W/ PMDG 737NG ADDON FUEL TIME CORR TOGWT LDGWT AVG W/CTAXI 000570 0015 . . . . 116540 113169 P030DEST EHAM 003371 0031 . . . .RESV 004718 0045 . . . .ALTN 001651 0015 . . . . ALTN EBBR DIST 84HOLD 000000 0000 . . . .EXTRA 000000 0000 . . . . ZFW 106800 PAYLOAD 023800TTL AT TO 009740 0131 . . . . DIST 0201REQD 010310 0146 . . . .CLB BIAS 0.0 % CRZ BIAS 0.0 % DSC BIAS 0.0 %EGLL BPK UR123 CLN UL620 REDFA EHAM/0031As you can see, my taxi, destination, reserve, alternate, total fuel at takeoff, and total required is listed in the fuel column. If I wanted to plan for holding time, I could have entered a time or fuel weight earlier in the aircraft config folder.FSBuild has taken the winds I saved from ActiveSky, the aircraft configuration based on payload, and computed fuel burn plus the other options I've provided. All you have to do is load the fuel listed on the REQD line.If you want to select the optimum cruise level, then you should take note of two things:DEST EHAM 003371 0031 (from the fuel column)and AVG W/C (upper right portion of the log)P030The first tells us that we are burning 3371 lbs of fuel to get to EHAM and flight time is 31 minutes. The second tells us the average wind component over the entire route is P030 (positive 30 knots), meaning a tailwind. This is all based on a cruise level of 21,000 feet.What you want to do is alter the cruise level and rebuild the plan, watching the two components listed. Try to find the best avg wind compenent in combination with the shortest flight time/fuel burn. The second term is tricky because sometimes you will find better tailwinds at lower altitudes, but this means slower true airspeeds and more fuel burn. Since this is a sim, fuel burn is probably the least of your concerns unless you fly for a virtual airline that tracks fuel burn. You'll probably focus more on min flight time and appropriate flight level (even vs. odd).Once the optimum flight level is known, the fuel categories will update on the next build.Another tip is you can do all of this (ASV + FSBuild) before launching Flight Sim. FSBuild writes the plan for Flight Sim, ASV then loads the plan and builds the ICS texture files. Then when you start flight sim, the textures are set and all you have to do is ensure the payload weight and fuel are correct.Hope this helps and if there are questions, ask at the FSBuild Forum on the FSBuild website.Bruce

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