Abrupt haze or fog problem

[kjackson 0]

Does anyone have a problem with extreme haze or fog after a few hundred feet or when getting close to clouds? This happens with the default downloaded weather. When I take off visibility is great and the clouds well established and for some reason I am thown into a thick layer of haze or fog. I am not in a cloud formation but directly underneath. Any ideas?Thanks,

[Guest mandudeguy]

No, i dont have that problem. hey i know this is off your topic but are you going to a flight school in SAT? if so which one, i work at SAT and im also trying to get the money to start flying.Mike

[kjackson 0]

I got my private pilot certificate at Alpha Tango a few years ago. It's right near the tower at San Antonio International Airport. I'm currently working on my instrument rating. Don't know what it's like at AT since 9/11. When I trained there the school was about 90% foreign students from all over the world. The FBI came down hard on them because of that. In my opinion it was a great school. I made many friends there. Most have moved on to commerial ventures. My flight instructor was from India and moved to Canada before 9/11. He was having visa trouble getting back into this country. I've lost touch with him. Anyway, there are a few place in town that provide good training. Are you interested?Regards,

[Guest mandudeguy]

I was thinking of going to Wright Flyers. Also how did you pay??? Did you get a loan or you paid as you went??

[kjackson 0]

That's the best part. Alpha Tango allows you to pay as you go. I put down about $1,000 and every time my balance would go below $300 I would just add a little more. You can choose how much you want to put down and there is even a discount for paying in advance. Wright Flyers is a good organization. They are more structured. I kind of enjoyed the flexible scheduling and payment plans with AT though. They were not laid back when it came to safety though. The instructors were top rate. But good instructors are always hard to find since they usually move up. I was lucky and kept my instructor all the way up to my final check ride.Good luck,

[Moose4 0]

It sounds like you're having the same thing happen that I am. I'll be flying along in high visibility conditions, a few cumulus in the sky but nothing anywhere near my flight path, when all of a sudden, bam! I'm in a haze or fog bank, abruptly, with about 2-3 mile visibility. Then, a few minutes later, just as suddenly, I'm back in the clear. But when I look behind me, there's no cloud there for me to have just flown out of.This only seems to happen at lower altitudes for me. And I don't have to be right under a cloud for it to happen, although there are usually some in the vicinity but not right in front of me. I'd not worry about it except that there's never any cloud or haze for me to fly into or out of--it just happens out of a clear blue sky (pardon the pun).

[kjackson 0]

Exactly Moose. You have explained it perfectly. Does anyone have a clue as to what is going on? Maybe the cloud master Chris Willis can be of assistance. This is very annoying, though not critical.Best,

[Guest in_04]

Do you use the FS2004 internal or downloaded weather? Or did you run a external weather program like FS-Meteo?One problem I have is that FS2004 didn't make a transition between the visibility of different stations. So maybe a station with low visibility in the distance is the cause for this problem.ByeMarkus

[Moose4 0]

That could be it. I'm using FS2004 downloaded real-world weather, either static or updated every 15 depending on how I feel at the time. I have noticed that FS2004 doesn't do any sort of gradual shift between weather zones, winds will abruptly shift as (I guess) I'm crossing a boundary between reporting areas. So maybe the visibility does too.

[kjackson 0]

Thanks Markus. I use downloaded weather set at 15min intervals. I takeoff from my home airport in San Antonio (KSAT) consistenly. The fog/haze suddenly appears between 1200 and 2300ft 100% of the time shortly after takeoff. I can't figure how to turn it off.Regards,

[Guest PhilipManwaring]

Have you tried using the FSUIPC 'smooth vis. change' option? Perhaps this would help a little.

[hightower 8]

Fog generally forms when dew point and temperature are very close. Might be worth a shot to play with the settings in the Temp/Pressure box in the Weather window. Set your temp and dew point 20 to 30 degrees apart and see if this has any effect to reduce or eliminate the fog. Visibility probably plays a part as well. Are we all having fun??!!I don't know if there is a way to access the weather parameters that MS used to create their various "Weather Themes" or not, but surely herein lies the answer as to what settings they used to create fog.

[Guest Anthony_D]

Try this experiment. 1. Clear all weather, and then apply universal visibility to a setting of 10miles or less. Set the upper visibility altitude limits.2. Now then, slew the aircraft to a level above the visibility layer. I see a thin milky translucent layer below - is this what you see?3. Now descend to just above the visibility layer, note distant landmarks you can see through the 'milk'. 4. Descend just into the layer. On my machine, the haze suddenly appears - all around - no blue sky above, no sun. It's different to the milk seen from above. Distant landmarks through the milk seen from above are now gone. Is this what you see?Hope this helps, I'm having the same problem, but can't determine if it's a game 'feature' or a driver issue.Anthony Dyer

[kjackson 0]

Thanks Anthony and others. I'll give this a try.Regards,

[Guest]

Try turning off your "Sun Glare" I had the same problem and that fixed it. All the Best ..