Make sure to check your local suppression range in ASE. It tends to be set way too large for GA flights. I usually set mine to a much smaller range so I get more weather updates. I find you get better results when you load your flightplan in ASE without having FS9 open. When you start FS9 after then you will get all your initial weather loaded correctly for certain. ASE is a fantastic program and does about the best you can do with FS9's weather engine. Overall I have never been happy with FS9's rendition of IMC, but that isn't the fault of the weather program.

Interesting subject, so I couldn't resist testing. Went onto Flight Aware and got the actual weather for KALB, then checked it out on FS9Real World Weather using todays date and time, and it was near as damn it right. Result is, download Real World Weather and todays conditions will be used by any date entered. Logical. Try it.

Make sure to check your local suppression range in ASE. It tends to be set way too large for GA flights. I usually set mine to a much smaller range so I get more weather updates. I find you get better results when you load your flightplan in ASE without having FS9 open. When you start FS9 after then you will get all your initial weather loaded correctly for certain. ASE is a fantastic program and does about the best you can do with FS9's weather engine. Overall I have never been happy with FS9's rendition of IMC, but that isn't the fault of the weather program.

I'll have to add that to my procedural lists. It makes sense though if you think about it. Setting up the env before FS9 starts would push the current config. I've never been very happy with FS9's IMC either. When FSX came out it was even more dissapointing seeing that that wasn't addressed. Do you have any tips or tricks that you implement to get IMC?What is the effect of smoothing? I've seen topics about smooting winds and visibilities. What's the purpose of that? Does it enhance the IMC/IFR expericnce?

Hmmm.I will put my CFII hat on here and say this. Whatever weather you can get that gives you the most unpredictable weather would be best. You must always be ready for a diversion. You MUST always carry enough fuel for any unforseen event. Having weather be as advertised is a gift from the gods if you are trying to simulate RW life. If you merely want everything precise and down to the grits, then set it that way. If you want valuable skill honing tactics it is best to never know what the weather is going to do. Especially on days where it is IFFY IFR everywhere within your fuel circle.The comment that RW pilots do not like to fly in thunderstorms is the best comment I read. There is a addage we live by. There are old pilots and bold pilots. But there are NO OLD BOLD pilots. Go from there.If I put on my Freight Dog Hat on, I would say this. Boxes always go. People don't. That is why it is one of the most dangerous jobs out there, however awesome for the logbooks. There was one night where I flew a Piper Aerostar from CAK to ROC to BUF to CAK. I was flying a load of Investors Business Daily and The Wall Street Journal. All was uneventful until I was homeward bound from BUF to CAK. It was 02:30 and I hit the worst icing (Southeast corner of Lake Erie) I'd ever seen. Or have seen since. It was not predicted or forecasted. Yet it was there. I went from 180 KIAS to 150 KIAS in a very short time. All the while working with ATC on the most South Bound vector they could give me. Climbing out of it at 8,000 feet was awesome however with the vector and added climb it got into my fuel a great deal. I still landed leagally but not comfortably. Flying freight does not always allow you to have the gas you want or even need in order to get the job done. Maybe you want to set up those kinds of scenerios, see what you might do. Either way believe me. RW Weather does not behave like you'd like it to! LOL.Putting on my Corporate Pilot hat on, I'd tell you that comfort and convenience is everything. Find the Line of thunderstorms and depending on your aircraft, (King Air 90 (C90 (B especially))) You will tell the boss that you are going to land just shy of the encroaching line, send them off for dinner and drinks, put the aircraft in the hangar, and wait. When the boss and clients come back happy you will have an uneventful smooth ride home as the storms have passed. NICE VFR too. If above scenario is in a DA10 then not too much to worry. Just fly over the WX and around the tops.For simming, I use Jeppy WX too. Something just goes against my FS grain to set weather, unless I am testing something.I too wish there was something out there that did a better job of random weather. The more random the better. One thing predictable about real world weather is that it is unpredictable at best.One last "Hard Core IFR" bit of enjoyment I do, is to do LOW IFR (200 and a half) MAX GROSS WEIGHT V1 Cuts (Engine CUT RIGHT AT ROTATION just after you have passed V1 so the decision has been made to go fly). I do this with the Wilco Feelthere 737-300). Ah yes quite the challenge. Serious handful as she really does not want to rotate let alone get into the air. But um (ya aint got the runway to abort!) HINT. Rudder Trim!!! Have it mapped. As well as your Auto Throttle switch. You must achieve 100% N1 (On the good engine) while keeping an eye on N2. :( This works well with MSP (KMSP) Rnwy 4. Watch out for the Shorview antennas. They are out there somewhere and they are over 1000' agl. You must maintain runway TRACK!AWESOME POST MATT!Sorry for the typos. Heading back to work and out of time!JetATP, CFIIAIME(Takeoffs are optional, landings are manditory.)

Hey Matt love your cockpit setup! :( Great idea with the laptop as well...is that your attic? If so it is a great idea for a set up like that. I am fortunate enough to have an extra room in my house to use as an office so I stay out of the wifes way. If I had an attic I would use that roof slant for some kind of overhead panel!Like I said I do most of my simming in the big iron (PMDG/PSS/LVD). So I am flying with the "works" as far as NAV equipment goes. If you look at my profile it has a link to my FS blog (and on my FS blog you can see link to other FS blogs too). It has some of my virtual flight's on there (and screen shots of the approaches, look at February "legs" series for some CAT I).I use real world weather for my flights and rarely if ever set up IMC on purpose. I would check your setting in ASV6 and FSUIPC. I am not saying it works out perfect for me each time but I get a good mixed bag using RWW. If it is really foggy here at home (CYYZ/CYTZ/CYKZ) I do run the sim in RWW and do some touch and goes on insturments. It's a close as I get to setting up IMC conditions on purpose.Fun stuff.....And for the record I have an old set of Jepp charts, the NDB approach charts don;t even go in my binders! They stay in the box (shows how many NDB's I have done huh?).If you want a fun approach try the PMDG 747 on runway 10 using the VOR. No G/S there and hard to judge!And check out Ed Detorit's videos on YouTube. He has some awesome FS flying skills and does some really tricky approaches>>http://www.youtube.com/user/edetroit

Actually the pit is under the stairs in the basement. It's a daylight basement that's fully furnished. I've been thinking of putting the GoFlight stuff on an overhead. The slant of the stairs would make it useful. Sounds like a fun project.

One more AS tip. Even though in options you may set the FS weather/AI to refresh when weather writes are finished force an FS AI Refresh anyway. You can move the button in AS if it is still there as it was in AS 6.5. If you have a fully registered FSUIPC you can set a hot key to refresh FS AI. If not, then move the FS time ahead three minutes.This does two things. FS ATIS (and RC) is now immediately updated. The clumped AI that were arriving and departing when your FS flight was loaded before AS finished modifying the weather and were using the wrong patterns and runways are killed and start leaving and arriving properly for the "new" weather condition. If you use a sophisticated aircraft this refresh gets you ready so the aircraft systems see the proper weather environment.

I've never been a big fan of setting weather myself in the sim. It always seemed "contrived" to me. But on the same token it seemed necessary in order to get some IFR flying. Perhaps I'm looking at this wrong? Maybe I'm having a weahter epiphany now? I like flying IFR for sure. But can I get the same challange without having minimums set? And if there are minimums how would I be ready for it? Either way there has to be some sort of hands on training.What do people do to challange themselves? It's nice coming in sometimes with a few broken clould layers, but do sim pilots prefer that all the time?

I've never been a big fan of setting weather myself in the sim. It always seemed "contrived" to me. But on the same token it seemed necessary in order to get some IFR flying. Perhaps I'm looking at this wrong? Maybe I'm having a weahter epiphany now? I like flying IFR for sure. But can I get the same challange without having minimums set? And if there are minimums how would I be ready for it? Either way there has to be some sort of hands on training.What do people do to challange themselves? It's nice coming in sometimes with a few broken clould layers, but do sim pilots prefer that all the time?

I just set visibility to 1/4 or 1/2 mile- then right after takeoff, kill one engine. Feather the prop, cut off fuel, trim the bird all the while you are setting up for a circuit and emergency landing where you just took off. That gets the adrenalin flowing! And sweaty armpits too.Alex ReidDreamFleet Baron- Port engine out on takeoff (now feathered), fuel sw off. From R27 CYYJ. Gear/flaps still down.

What do people do to challange themselves? It's nice coming in sometimes with a few broken clould layers, but do sim pilots prefer that all the time?

I fly real weather everytime (I usually fly online). So any weather is good for me. But it definitively brings a smile to my face when prior to descent I check the weather at my destination and there are low clouds, low visibility and some rain. (Bonus points if it is at night-time)My number 2 option is a nice 30-ish crosswind :(