One thing I have noticed, and maybe I am just doing something wrong but flying enroute during lines of thunderstorms there are usually towering cumulus clouds up to FL400 and higher. These need to be deviated around and make for some big decisions in real life flying. I have not seen any big time buildups during storms. Is it me or is this really missing?

There's an option to do so. From AsV manual:"Extend Thunderstorm Layers

But this option will also add the possibility of rain effects even when you don't have any clouds above/around you?

Hi Web,Yes this is true, but even without a weather generator, FS04 can produce rain without being in the clouds!Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg

>There's an option to do so. >>From AsV manual:>"Extend Thunderstorm Layers

OK Jim, but what about ASV with this option disabled? Because that's how I have it and seeing rain when no clouds are nearby looks very strange...at least to me.

I'm with seventhreeseven. Clicking an option for anvils is missing the point. Vertical stretching of Cu and Cb is what's required not anvils with dubious ppn. I flew in online ASV weather the other day over Switzerland with active thunderstorms in progress but the vertical extent of the clouds was very disappointing. i don't think any exceeded 10000 feet. It's not good enough Jim saying the default is just as bad. We know that - that's presumably why we paid for Active Sky. Mervyn

>We know that - that's presumably why we paid for>Active Sky. >>Mervyn Agreed. As a major airline pilot I am used to the annual summer season of deviating around huge buildups at FL400 and the planning that is involved with it. I thought this product delivered that, the realism of towering CB's and the crunch time in deciding to go left or right.Now this would be more like it.................http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=3...RFP&photo_nr=11

There's an box in the options marked Maximum Thickness and mine is set at 10,000ft. Perhaps this needs to be amended to say 40,000ft?

I'm not seeing a problem with towering CBs. Ever since ASV came out I've been deviating around CBs. During my last flight at FL330, I encountered a line of CB's and had to deviate 15 deg left of course to dodge a buildup directly ahead of me. I'd estimate the tops were somewhere near FL400.It must the combination of option settings. I'm not in front of my home compute right now, but I do remember setting extended CB, no limit on cloud layers, and cumulus thickness at 15,000. Do you have a limit on the number of cloud layers? Perhaps ASV is trying to extend the CB height and it can't due to the restriction on the number of layers. Just a guess....Bruce

Hi Mervyn,Please do not misquote me! I was replying to one user about seeing rain while not in the clouds. This is a FS04 BUG and not due to AS.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg

Hi All,These clouds are possible but it is not an everyday, every flight type of thing. Much has to do with the internal coding built into ASV, and it is our first attempt at this. Because of this, maybe things are not as perfect as they are in real life, but we can sure work on it to make things better!! Maybe a "request to make things better" or a "something I noticed" post would be more productive. Would you like me to add this to the items to look at in the future? We love hearing about reasonable requests/improvements!Or maybe I spent too long at the eye-doctor today and I have a big headache and this is causing me to be crabby. :-lol:-lol So everyone, please don't think I am like this all the time. :-lol:-lol Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg

Hi Jim,My sincere apologies for 'misquoting' you. Perhaps you are not the only one who can be 'crabby'. :-) It probably comes from spending literally hours trying to set up weather scenarios that do what I want them to in ASV (see other thread).Mervyn

I did a flight last Friday (Jul 01), DEN-BOS, with real WX and all default ASV options.As I crossed Lake Michigan at FL350, just south of ORD, I had to deviate 30 degrees north from my planned route, as I had no less than 3 Cumulus towering higher than my flight level, probably topped around FL380-400. You could see lighting from them, and my WX radar showed them in red, so I tought it would be better not to disturb them hehe.I saw a couple more buildups in my recent flights, but not as close. They looked higher than my cruise level, so I think they are possible with ASV. But to get them, I had to fly over or near heavy thunderstorm.I don't know if they still appear with light to moderate thunderstorm in real life, I'm just a poor guy who dosen't have the chance to fly around them, I just get the rain under it :).Etienne Bouchard

Hi, Towering Cumulus, anvil and these type are all there etc. These are trigered from height and altitude in the fs2004 engine, if they are in the metar, you will saw those in fs2004.ThanksChris WillisHiFi Simulation Software Team Developerhttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg