I remember  in one of my solo flights ( Cessna 152), I had my first experience with CAT.  The cause at that location was heath over the ground, [Hot air rising threw my plane like a butterfly] It was a moment of quick decision.   I went up an extra 3000 feet, and reporting the location to the center.

I was wondering whether there was a way to simulate that experience in FS9 ( FSX as well). This could add a bit of realism. If anyone knows such a setup. please advise.

Thank You.

 

Bob Bance

You can simulate updrafts/CAT based on terrain using ASN in FSX.  Active sky next has completely  revolutionized weather generation for desktop sims.  

 

For FS9 I used AS2012, it will generate CAT but it is random or based on METAR. FSGW is another good option for FS9

 

Regards 

For FS9 please use Active Sky Evolution. AS 2012 is for FSX only.

Yes correct Jim! Apologies

I use the no longer available AS65 for FS9 and it does a good job on approach turbulence. It simulates very well my experiences in landing small GA at suburban airports or where there are terrain features for both solar effects and crosswind burbling through adjacent tree clusters in the approach path. For the higher altitudes you can get vertical drafts based on terrain tapering off as you fly higher over the obstacles caused by winds climbing and descending over them. I would assume the later versions of AS maintain these excellent features.

 

Without AS, you get random turbulence. It is pretty rough but can be set in fs9.cfg. I use:

TurbulenceScale=0.300000

in the weather section if not using AS. The default is 1.00000. This also can reduce thunderstorm turbulence.

 

If AS does not offer enough options for you they also can be set in FSUIPC3 which AS registers for you the weather options.

 

CAT is actually usually referred to the high altitude turbulence cause by vertical thermal solar drafts over large water bodies or going through a crosswind path through the jet stream. It can be very severe.