hi alli just want to know how often does Active Sky update within FS2004, also if i download the latest 'data' and i am at my local airport in FS and look up at the clouds will i see exactly the same cloud types as i would if i go out in real life and look up?

Hi,FS04 always has the current data from ASv6.The data in ASv6 is updated according to your download interval.The data on the servers is updated once an hour.If you are VERY close to a weather station then the types should be the same.If you are a bit farther then there may be a combination from a number of stations, but still pretty close.Users have noticed that the weather outside their window is the same shown in AS.Hope this helps,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Development TeamActive Sky V6 Proud SupporterHiFi Beta TeamRadar Contact Supporter

Hi,Just to clarify on:"The data on the servers is updated once an hour."Most stations in USA report between 10 minutes before the top of the hour and 10 minutes after the hour, on an hourly basis. Non-USA stations can have different intervals. This is the ACTUAL station itself creating these reports (man-made or automatic) at which time it is sent out to various data collection systems.During certain times of bad weather or rapidly changing conditions, "SP" reports may be issued at lower intervals, for example between 10 and 30 minutes. Certain stations close or have periods of time with higher reporting intervals (i.e. every 4 hours) as is the case with some non-US airports.The HiFi DataNet (the system which collects and distributes wx data from various sources) actually updates (collects) METAR information approximately every 10 minutes. Further server-end synthesis and other processes (publishing) that occur before the actual data is available to clients running ActiveSky can take up to 10 minutes. So our delay from collection to distribution (of METAR data) is approximately 20 minutes maximum, with an average of about 15-17 minutes. You have to account for a further delay of about 5 minutes for data to trickle down from the actual stations, through the collection networks, distribution, etc. Add to this the update interval that you have configured on your AS client (default 10 minutes) as well as the time it takes AS to download/update and you have a total of up to 40 minutes (about 25-30 minutes average) from the total time it takes for the actual report made at the station to be active on your sim. Thus if KLAX reported at 2250Z you could expect to see that active on your end at about 2320Z. Because most reports are hourly, you won't see another update then until about 2420Z.Other types of data (forecasts, winds aloft, etc.) are collected at different intervals, but never exceeding 4 hours (which in most cases is before actual new data is even available, but we check more often in case "late" or additional reports come in).Just a little technical background on how it all works :) Hope it helps!Best,