Air Pockets---are modeled into FS2002! WOW, WOW........

[Guest]

Air pockets!My gawd! Air pockets are modeled!!!Today, while flying at FL320 in a Westjet A320, at these coordinates:N40 7.15

[Guest Frank Betts]

Holy cow, Mitch! I had forgotten all about you good ol' Fu2 and 3 days just came popping back Hmmm I'll have to check out those pot holes in the sky for sure. :-smile12

[bobbyjoh 11]

Hi Mitch,Sounds like you had a lot of fun with your turbulence. But to be technical, you know there are no such things as "Air Pockets", that is an old wise tale. There are severe "updrafts or downdrafts" standing wav's or other atomossheric pehenomena that have "eddies" in the air. In the "old days" people thought there were these pockets of "no air" hence the term.But in any case a little "CAT" can cause a lot of passenger and crew excitment.CheersBob Johnson

[Guest]

Probably so...but...Bob....try explaining the technical slant to paying passengers that just popped their heads out of the roof liner above them....."Honey...my head is crooked...what's the number of our lawyer?".....oh yeah.....joy.....(grin)Mitch

[Guest]

Hey Frank! Long time, no hear! :)I was just cruising along....nice and smooth...sipping on a cup of java when all HELL broke loose........I actually said, HOLY S***!!!....and started a recovery.What an adrenaline rush, Frank.FS2002 ROCKS! Supreme!Ah...life IS good.....Cheers!Mitch R.

[Bruce Nicholson KMFR 20]

Mitch,Not to burst your bubble, or your air pocket :-lol but CAT is NOT modeled in MS Meteo nor FS2002.I'm guessing what you experienced was a bad data point in the METAR database. The location you quoted is the point where Wright-Patterson AFB weather would be superseded by Cox-Dayton Int'l weather going westbound or vice versa if going eastbound.Since you were flying at a constant pressure altitude (29.92"), the simulator dropped you instantly to the correct altitude when the new barometric pressure was read. This has been an ongoing glitch since the early days of Flt Sim and even the subLogic simulators.Pete Dowson has helped us out by providing a smoothing effect in his FSUIPC module. The user can set the rate of pressure change over time, thereby eliminating the sudden huge drops or rises in altitude.In the meantime, tell your passengers to keep their seatbelts fastened! :(

[Guest]

I'll take that under advisement. :)I have all the boxes checked for smooth sailing, pressure-wise, and and am still getting pounded up there.I have flown this flight plan many times before, even in weather fronts, and have not had this ride.I have traversed your median reporting line, and am STILL hitting severe turbulence, with all counter-bug-action from the module settings notwithstanding.....are you absolutely sure that this is not being realized within my virtual flight?With all respects of course, my flight today a hundred miles beyond that point disputes that there is no C.A.T modeled and showing up.No matter what, though...WHAT A RIDE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheers!Mitch (reaching for the barf bag) Robbins

[Guest]

Bruce, this flight is proving to be most interesting.Not two mintues ago, I just heard A.T.C. pass on the B.P. as a reading of 29.92! I'm also set to 29.92 standard of course being at FL320.Now...in light of what you said could be the explanation of a differential of B.P. as I transitioned two weather reporting stations---for my flight model today to have dropped nearly 2,500 ft...to be a 'bug'...but then explain how I am still being pounded with turbulence and altitude drop if C.A.T. is NOT actually 'quietly' modeled?If there is no difference (B.P.) in what the sim is reporting(via A.T.C. verbal updates to other surrounding A.I. flights) at present X/Y in my ensuing flight, and what I am set to(B.P of 29.92 in) via the altimeter...then how is what is going on today, explained?Interesting, huh?:)Mitch R.

[Bruce Nicholson KMFR 20]

Mitch,The first thing is to watch the station reports that FS Meteo is using. You will notice as you traverse the countryside, surface pressure will be rising or lowering depending on where the high and low systems are centered.Generally, the station passage will show gradual changes. This should have no affect on the aircraft other than a gradual ascent or descent AGL as the autopilot follows the pressure altitude. However, on a rare occasion, stations my be far enough apart and the pressure gradiant strong enough, that there is a sudden sharp change in the surface pressure. Without the FSUIPC adjustment, the sim will immediately jump to the appropriate pressure altitude.Now from your more recent posts, it sounds like you are experiencing constant CAT. The jumps due to surface pressure changes are one time events as they happen. It sounds more like you are truely experiencing shear-zone turbulence as you pass through sudden changes in upper air wind speeds. There are settings in FSUIPC to model random turbulence and also in weather add-ons. I'm not certain about FS Meteo, but I know that ActiveSky wxRE models this. There was a series of recent posts where users were talking about the excessive amount of turbulence represented in FS. The solution was to open the FS2002.CFG file and change the TurbulenceScale=1.000000 to TurbulenceScale=0.200000Give that a try and see if your ride settles down a bit. It's exciting to have the bumps and drops, but the intensity is a bit overdone at the default settings. :-)Bruce

[Guest]

It was only this one time....since '85...but I have to tell ya......what a rush! :)I knew already that it could not be B.P.flux as the highs and lows were encountered.Thanks for the replies! Again...a great flight that touched down upon KDFW's 35L as per A.T.C. Broke out below the overcast on the final at 2,000 AGL. :)Actually..I think that was the most exciting and involved flight SINCE '85!Cheers!Mitch