Hi there,

 

I rarely fly above 8,000 feet doing mostly VFR flights. How can I get info (figures) about winds/temps aloft (WTA) for different altitudes along my route? Even though WTA data generated by Opus may differ from real-life data, I would like to be able to use these figures for my pre-flight calculations (speed, WCA, etc.) while on the ground. I could even interpolate them in case Opus cannot provide waypoint-based WTA data (like NOAA's region-based reports) ...

 

Is that possible at all?

 

Thank you!

You have two options available to you.

 

Firstly you could specify a cruise altitude of zero feet and just use simulated winds which will veer the surface winds upward so your winds at these lower altitudes will solely depend on the surface wind. Not too far of reality for such low altitudes.

 

Alternatively you can specify your cruise altitude and if this is 6000 feet or more you will get GRIB forecast data, this gives forecast data for FL200 upwards, the LWE then uses the Sim Friendly adjustments to attempt a smooth transition between the surface wind and the forecasted upper winds, again veering upward.

 

So the choice is yours. You can of course still enter and process a flight plan in Opus and consult the OpusFlightReport.txt file, probably best to specify a GRIB enabled cruise altitude for this. You will also get your specified cruise altitude winds and temps displayed on the Cruise Winds and Temperatures LWA weather maps.

 

Stephen

Thank you very much, Stephen!

 

Also, I took some very useful info from "OpusFSX Live WX" PDF file, I'd mention pp.11-12 in particular.

 

So, just to clarify:

 

1) For cruising altitudes below 6K feet LWE will only simulate WTA data for surface and between FL040 up to FL180, actual GRIB data will neither be downloaded, nor processed.

2) As far as I understand from "Processing a flight plan" section of PDF, if a flight plan specifies a custom waypoint not found in navigation database, LWE omits it without processing. Is that true?

3) Even if GRIB data is not downloaded because of flight altitudes less than 6,000, can I still get WTA data from OpusFlightReport.txt?

4) Are these options valid for historical wx updates either?

 

Thank you once again!!!

Hi,

1. If you don't have GRIB data enabled then all winds from FL040 upwards are simulated, I don't think there they are limited to FL180 but I may have to check tomorrow.
2. If the non listed waypoint is a lat/lon fix then I believe that is included. But any points not identified are simply ignored, the flight plan is still processed.
3. Not sure on this one, I don't think the flight plan report will include WTA but I would have to try it and see.
4. Yes I believe so, each GRIB forecast cycle contains 360 hours of data so the relevant cycle will be downloaded and the appropriate data extracted.

Stephen

But any points not identified are simply ignored, the flight plan is still processed.

 

 

Sorry, Stephen, but I'm a bit confused - if a waypoint is ignored how it's processed then? What exactly does "processing" mean? Will I still be able to get readable WTA figures for custom fixes? If yes, where should I look for them?

 

 

Not sure on this one, I don't think the flight plan report will include WTA...

 

 

I would like to get a wx report similar to what is shown on p.40 of your Live Weather pdf. But that particular example is for a high altitude flight plan. When I import my flight plan (see below) into Opus, OpusFlightReport.txt doesn't show any WTA data; only surface data and METAR info is included. That's why I guessed that Opus doesn't process and publish WTA figures for custom waypoints not included in navdata. See my wx report in attachment.

 

I don't know why I can't attach my flight plan but here it is:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<SimBase.Document Type="AceXML" version="1,0">
    <Descr>AceXML Document</Descr>
    <FlightPlan.FlightPlan>
        <Title>CZMT to CZST</Title>
        <FPType>VFR</FPType>
        <CruisingAlt>5500</CruisingAlt>
        <DepartureID>CZMT</DepartureID>
        <DepartureLLA>N54° 1' 57.12",W132° 7' 52.37",+000022.00</DepartureLLA>
        <DestinationID>CZST</DestinationID>
        <DestinationLLA>N55° 56' 05.91",W129° 59' 01.56",+000032.00</DestinationLLA>
        <Descr>CZMT, CZST</Descr>
        <DeparturePosition>13</DeparturePosition>
        <DepartureName>Masset</DepartureName>
        <DestinationName>Stewart</DestinationName>
        <AppVersion>
            <AppVersionMajor>10</AppVersionMajor>
            <AppVersionBuild>61472</AppVersionBuild>
        </AppVersion>
        <ATCWaypoint id="CZMT">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N54° 1' 57.12",W132° 7' 52.37",+000022.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>CZMT</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="Triple Island">
            <ATCWaypointType>User</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N54° 17' 46.20",W130° 52' 54.17",+000075.00</WorldPosition>
            <Descr>Triple Island Light Station</Descr>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="Green Island">
            <ATCWaypointType>User</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N54° 34' 08.85",W130° 42' 30.15",+000057.00</WorldPosition>
            <Descr>Green Island Light Station</Descr>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="Portland Canal">
            <ATCWaypointType>User</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N55° 17' 13.76",W129° 58' 28.76",+000000.00</WorldPosition>
            <Descr>Portland Canal</Descr>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="Fix">
            <ATCWaypointType>User</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N55° 46' 02.29",W130° 8' 58.33",+000000.00</WorldPosition>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="CZST">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N55° 56' 05.91",W129° 59' 01.56",+000032.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>CZST</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
    </FlightPlan.FlightPlan>
</SimBase.Document>

Thanks for everything!

The FLIGHT PLAN will be processed even though it cannot identify the listed navigation or waypoint.

 

I have already told you that without GRIB you may not get any wind and temp data for your low altitude. I will look at adding simulated winds in the future but the wind will in effect just be based on the surface wind, veered upwards by X degrees and increased in strength by Y knots, in accordance with what the FSX expects or easily handles.

 

Stephen

 

No need to report it as if its a problem. If its not implemented then its not implemented.

 

Stephen

Thank you, Stephen, much appreciated! 

 

No, by no means it was my intention to report it as a problem, definitely not. I was just wondering if I could get (even simulated) WTA data report for lower altitudes as opposed to what I find on p40 of the pdf for higher altitudes... That's it.

 

Cheers!

I have made a note to check the flight plan report generation and see if I can include WTA data in the report even when there is no GRIB. I will just have to repeat the simulated wind and temp target calculations to determine what the expected WTA ay your low altitude will be and include those in a similar fashion to the higher altitude reports.

 

Stephen

Ok, that will be very nice and generous of you!

 

Cheers!  :drinks: