Hello there,

 

I'm one of those simmers who spends ages planning the flight to perfection. I print off numerous weather charts etc.

 

On planning my flight today (TOM676) From Birmingham-Enfidha in Tunisia i noticed in the winds that on a FL390 model at 15z (T+15), the charts are showing a southerly directed wind through most of Europe (Mostly over UK), so departing BHX and climbing to FL390 i am getting winds of 231/46, which is totally different to what they should be. (A crosswind not a tailwind which it should be)

 

Just wondering, have i got a setting wrong or something?

 

Cheers

 

Chart in question http://ows.public.se...L390_15_00Z.png

Hmm.. try to open the Opus weather report - high altitude wx window (can't remember exactly what it is called) in the FSX menu and see what the winds are at FL390 (in the wx report, not actual in the sim). If they are different from what they are in the sim, try updating the dynamic weather manually.

 

Also check the timestamp in the opus weather report (could be different from the current realworld) to see if you can find the same timestamp on a realworld chart, and compare those two.

Should i have ''download winds aloft'' ticked in the FSX Weather menu or not?

 

By the way i am running version 2.50.6

Should i have ''download winds aloft'' ticked in the FSX Weather menu or not?

 

No, you should not. No other program should be injecting weather into FSX, not even FSX itself. Just Opus.

I use AS2012 for textures but it does not add any weather.

 

I will finish this flight, update Opus to the recent version and double check everything.

 

Thank you.

Hello!

 

One thing to consider, is updating to the newest version Opus. They have added an option where settings are automatically set for you based on the max flight level you have given for your current flight.

 

To give you an example, your current flight (FL above 220), Opus would have automatically enabled GRIB data download that is needed for winds aloft data.

Is the GRIB data the same as NOAA winds aloft data. I remember trying to plan a flight and had five different winds aloft data. NOAA was different from OPUSFSX GRIB which was different from activesky6 or evolution, data from FOREFLIGHT app on the iphone didn't match any of those above. it was really confusing. an example, in africa the winds aloft for say FL340 by NOAA is usually -42C, OPUSFX gives me -38C with winds significantly different.does anyone has any clarification as to the inconsistences.

 

John D

Of course you should never forget that the winds aloft, from whatever source, are only predictions ... guesstimates if you like. What you actually get may be very different, which is why you plan for the unexpected. Part of the fun and just like the real world!

I'm with SkipperMac on this one. I have yet to find a two programs that would give identical predictions for the winds aloft. You basically get a rough idea if head or tailwind is to be expected enroute.

 

How can you create a prediction? Simple interpolation from NOAA data is one option. This method might create "holes" between regions, where data isn't available.On the other hand, this method could be close enough for simming.

 

ForeFlight predictions are based on "computational fluid dynamics" (at least that's what I've heard). I've seen couple of ferry pilots using ForeFlight in the "real world". These predictions might be great for flying in the real world, but I wouldn't expect weather engine developers using CFD based algorithms. I might be wrong, who knows!