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Tower: What about wind calm?

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I just watched the San Francisco to Vegas full flight. It struck me that the tower gives wind info as 257 at 3. Shouldn't the direction for realism sake be rounded to the next 10 degrees, and wind speeds of 3 and below be considered as calm anyway? So would the actual tower in this particular case not rather say "wind calm" or, if the wind is stronger for example say "wind 260 at 18"?

Just a tiny detail, but maybe easy enough to implement with a few lines of code even at this late stage?

Fox

Normally it is rounded off to the nearest ten degree increment yes, but there is nothing wrong with being more precise if you can even though this isn't normally done. Theoretically three knots isn't much to worry about even if it is ninety degrees to the runway direction, but since it would be moving the windsock, it is counted.

Today's fun wind fact: The windsock, in case you were not aware, is actually calibrated. Each hooped segment of it from the mast will go fully horizontal at five knots, which is why some of the more helpful ones are not all orange, but have alternate orange and white segments. So we can assume the windsock for your three knot wind on that airfield would have been tilting the first segment out to about 70 degrees.

Alan Bradbury

Check out my youtube flight sim videos: Here

This is one of those details that you should chalk up to being the least of Asobo's worries. 

 

  • Author

Yes, it is true that this detail will be one of their very minor problems 🙂 But in the end realism always includes a huge amount of such tiny details, doesn't it?

Interesting to hear what you say, Alan. I based my message just on what I hear from the local tower, an where wind 199 at 2 would somehow sound weird 🙂 .

BTW, also found this snippet on the net:

The FAA, in their Order JO 7110.65X (Air Traffic Control), defines a limit of 3 knots.

2−6−3. REPORTING WEATHER CONDITIONS

....

b. Describe the wind as calm when the wind velocity is less than three knots.

Oh well, let's leave it there, finally we'll all be happy as long as FS ATC does not report stuff like wind 301 at 0 🙂

Fox

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