Real World Weather...

[jcomm 5,928]

After the interruption of the normal service of METAR text-based dissemination by NOAA, some flight simulators and applications using that source have seen their real world METAR data stopping to work.

 

During the last two weeks the original URL has been up and down, and it appears that now only the alternate site is really working.

 

There are already at least two threads on this subject here at AVSIM and at X-Pilot. Yesterday I had some time to test XP10 latest 10.50r2, and indeed when real world weather and winds aloft are enabled the last downloaded METAR is from a few days ago, when the original service was shutdown again.

 

I will try to open a ticket with LR to point them to the presently available alternative, still in text format, that has been used by users of Aerowinx PSX and which also works fine with ELITE, namely:

 

Alternate METAR D/L URL

 

Recent METAR cycles can still be downloaded from this URL, but NOAA is clear about the changes:

 

initially stated here: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/dm-cgi-bin/chgshow.pl?fn=DM051602.txt

 

https://www.aviationweather.gov/dataserver

 

https://www.aviationweather.gov/dataserver/bestpractices

 

But a very positive detail I found yesterday while trying to find if XP10 was being affected was that regarding aloft winds AND turbulence, XP10 is actually using GRIB data already, something I was not aware of, although I knoew that some versions ago Austin / Ben re-enabled the winds aloft downloads. Being based on turbulence and aloft GRIB data means that XP's weather system is, at least regarding this data, up to the best possible level for an application of it's type!

[jcomm 5,928]

And further to the above post, just a confirmation from Laminar Research that for the next version, the alternative servers will already be configured, so, with the next update of XP10, we will get back real world weather.

[RudiJG1 172]

Thanks, Jose...good news.

[jcomm 5,928]

You're welcome Wayne,

 

actually starting Jan 2017 dissemination will have to be done in text and xml formats, for the GTS systems, and from 2019 on only xml format will be supported.

 

One of the above links explains the basic format/syntax.

[alexcolka 183]

Great news! that update will be in this 10.50 release candidate run?

[jcomm 5,928]

I believe it is due for the next update, in the current run.