Wadaya think?

[Guest clintw]

tdragger,Great topic. If we are striving for "As Real As It Gets" then it must be based on magnetic. All tracks, headings, and runways are stated in terms of magnetic north. In addition, wind direction is usually given in terms of true north, EXCEPT surface wind direction given by a control tower, which is stated in relationship to magnetic north.Winner=MagneticHope that helps.Clint

[Guest rcoultas]

I'd opt for magnetic then since I fly magnetic headings. Best Regards,Randy

[JSkorna 137]

I'll just continue to tell people why their wind directions do not match up!Or somehow the message that magentic directions is being used and when it is not.Hope this helps,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.comhttp://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6...development.jpg http://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6-banner-proud.jpg

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[rich135 0]

Magnetic, to match runway headings and ATC... low and slow is when it counts the most. Forecast winds aloft are true, but in my experience they never seem to reflect reality; so in this case wrong == real. :-)

[Guest tdragger]

The consensus seems to be in favor of magnetic, but (and I'm sure you all know) METARs give surface windows as the true heading. Is anyone going to be confused/upset if they download a METAR and see:KAWO 042215Z AUTO 20005KT 10SM CLR 12/M01 A2996 RMK AO1And then woonder why the sim reports winds 181 @ 5?

[rich135 0]

Good point. Not to sound like a former president, but it depends on what you mean by "reports". :-) If the sim downloads a METAR that reads 20005KT, the important thing is that the simulation act upon the airplane from 200 true. Of lesser importance, ATIS, ATC and airport advisory services should report the magnetic equivilent; if that is not too difficult.With respect to input into the sim, true is probably better since METAR, TAF and winds aloft are true. I retract my earlier vote for magentic.

[Guest BlueRidgeDx]

Magnetic. Definitely.Unless you're in an Airbus, or a new Boeing and you're above 60 degrees north latitude (or something like that), you never have any indication of what your True heading is.Most people are concerned with wind during takeoff, or when on approach. During those times, everything is referenced in Magnetic. Runway headings, ATC vectors and surface winds are all given in Magnetic. I think that FS users will get the most bang for their buck if you make (or leave) everything referenced to Magnetic direction.Regards,Nick

[JSkorna 137]

I still vote for True. If we are looking for the most realism possible, why do we confuse users with this, especially when it can be fixed right now, before FSX is released?Hope this helps,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.comhttp://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6...development.jpg http://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6-banner-proud.jpg

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[Guest EdrickV]

Either way I think people could get confused. If the ATIS messages were in true but the runways and instruments use/show magnetic, people could get confused by the apparent difference between the reported direction and the actual direction relative to the runway. I would, however, expect people parsing METAR reports to generally be more knowledgeable.And for those who really want to know, there is a relative wind guage available that may work with (or get updated for) FSX. Personally, when it comes to wind, I'm more worried about how it relates to the runway heading for takeoff and landing then anything else. If it's magnetic and the runway headings are magnetic, then I'll know which way the wind is blowing. If it's true and the runway heading is magnetic, then that info is not that useful to me since I don't know how to convert between the two.Another option, which would require more work to do, would be to make it user selectable. (Either through UI interface or even just a config file entry.) Just like the indicated vs real airspeed option."Let me help you out. You're cleared to taxi any way you can to any runway you see."

[JSkorna 137]

Hi,You proved my point, winds are always reported as true, ATIS reports them as true, any web site reports them as true, NOAA reports them as true, ADDS reports them as true, Pete's WeatherSet reports them as true. The only place I know of that reports them as magnetic is in the Shift/Z display in FS04. I can't remember, but I think even FS02 reported true.I do understand what you are saying and I am not trying to "start" anything!Hope this helps,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.comhttp://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6...development.jpg http://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6-banner-proud.jpg

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[Guest GA Flyer]

>The consensus seems to be in favor of magnetic, but (and I'm>sure you all know) METARs give surface windows as the true>heading. Is anyone going to be confused/upset if they download>a METAR and see:>>KAWO 042215Z AUTO 20005KT 10SM CLR 12/M01 A2996 RMK AO1>>And then woonder why the sim reports winds 181 @ 5?Thinking out of the box here, If we couldnt get the best of both worlds (as how it it is now I'm guessing) any chance of putting the amount of East/West Devation on the weather window prompt when you download weather?Not sure if that would help much but when the user downloads wx in FS9 we get a map of local reporting stations in the window. If we go True then having E/W Dev on that map might help.Speaking of those reporting stations when putting the cursor over other stations we get wind info but nothing else. Any chance of adding Vis and Ceiling to that?However, my vote is for magnetic for the only fact that is how we navigate in the a/c that use that kind of equipment. What I mean by that is in the big tin FMC and auto pilots take care of wind correction but in small a/c the pilot does and relies on the VSI or mag compass to do so. Jack

[Guest tdragger]

Actualy ATIS reports winds as magnetic: http://www.faa.gov/ATpubs/ATC/Chp2/atc0209.html.

[JSkorna 137]

In FS04? I should have added that!Hope this helps,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.comhttp://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6...development.jpg http://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6-banner-proud.jpg

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[Guest garwig2]

>The consensus seems to be in favor of magnetic, but (and I'm>sure you all know) METARs give surface windows as the true>heading. Yes, if I can only have one I'd like magnetic.Is anyone going to be confused/upset if they download>a METAR and see:>>KAWO 042215Z AUTO 20005KT 10SM CLR 12/M01 A2996 RMK AO1>>And then woonder why the sim reports winds 181 @ 5?How about if there was something within FS where we could get METARs and this would give it to us in magnetic? That way it would report winds 181 @ 5 and in the sim it would be 181 @ 5....and if that's not an option, winds change in real life so you can't expect it to match the METAR exactly anyway, so no, I wouldn't be upset.-Gary Letona

[Guest BlueRidgeDx]

>In FS04? I should have added that!No, not in FS2004 (well, maybe there too) but in the real world. The ATIS as well tower personnel report wind in magnetic, not true.Nick