Hi everyone,

I have a question about Active Sky that I haven't been able to find a clear answer to, despite searching the web.

Is Active Sky worth buying for MSFS 2024?

I've seen conflicting information. Some people say it works well in passive mode by providing more realistic wind data to the simulator, while others say it mainly adds turbulence effects. I already use FSRealistic+, so I assume that already covers turbulence and aircraft motion effects reasonably well.

My main goal is to achieve the most realistic weather and flying environment possible.

For those of you using Active Sky with MSFS 2024:

• What does it actually improve in its current state?

• Does it noticeably enhance wind, weather realism, or only turbulence?

• Would you recommend it if realism is the priority?

I'd really appreciate some clarification from people with first-hand experience. Thanks!

Edited Tuesday at 01:04 PM3 days by Arijano1
Got it wrong with FSRealistic

Simply put, when I fly with AS it feels and looks better. Perfect? no but, to me, far better than native wx. Some talk about visible transitions, when I fly I rarely notice them unless I am looking for them. I find the winds and turbulence to be more accurate.

When I fly without it, things just don 't look as good so, to me, YES it is great for MSFS2024.

I switched to ActiveSky a bit ago. The main reason was inconsistency in the MSFS 2024 default weather engine. The weird thing is that default 2024 weather can be really accurate and good. Other times, it fails the "look out the window" test badly. There were just too many days where I would watch planes breaking through the clouds at 500 feet in real life, only to go into the sim and get partly cloudy. I wanted to practice IFR approaches, but I can see the ground from thousands of feet in the sim. When it was right, it was good.

I bought and installed ActiveSky and overall it is just more accurate compared to real world conditions. The big drawback with AS is that it is still metar based, so you can get transitions between stations. As a GA flyer, I rarely notice them and the program does a pretty good job of making them gradual.

I've never done a deep dive comparing the two, I just noticed the "out the window" weather being wrong one too many times, and I switched and never went back. AS is very configurable as well, so you can adjust things as necessary. I set it on the most realistic setting and it works great for me. Again I'm making short hops in GA planes, so it is rare I fly far enough to run into major issues with transitions.

When I fly in 2024, I check real weather conditions and find ActiveSky to be very accurate.

A few other things, ActiveSky apparently has a passive mode where it lets 2024 control the weather, but enhances things? Honestly I've never used it, I use the full program to control weather, but that might be what you're seeing.

Also, FSRealistic doesn't do anything with turbulence other than make the camera move to help you "feel" it. FSRealistic has nothing to do with weather. It adds sounds and head movement to add immersion. It doesn't do anything with weather. It just uses whatever weather you are using.

I’m an airline flyer. Does ActIve Sky have convective clouds? And will the wx radar on my 737 and Airbus display correctly? Something I’m increasingly frustrated with is the lack of proper convective clouds and weather especially in Europe in the summer!

A big plus of Active Sky is historical weather. Sometimes, you may want to fly under weather conditions how they were half a year ago, and AS can provide that. MSFS only has the last 24 hours.

Regarding turbulences: I might be wrong since I don't own FSRealistic, but my impression was that it mainly adds visual and camera effects. That may look like a turbulence, but it would not affect the flight dynamics of the airplane. AS turbulences do that.

4 hours ago, Arijano1 said:

Hi everyone,

I have a question about Active Sky that I haven't been able to find a clear answer to, despite searching the web.

Is Active Sky worth buying for MSFS 2024?

I've seen conflicting information. Some people say it works well in passive mode by providing more realistic wind data to the simulator, while others say it mainly adds turbulence effects. I already use FSRealistic+, so I assume that already covers turbulence and aircraft motion effects reasonably well.

My main goal is to achieve the most realistic weather and flying environment possible.

For those of you using Active Sky with MSFS 2024:

• What does it actually improve in its current state?

• Does it noticeably enhance wind, weather realism, or only turbulence?

• Would you recommend it if realism is the priority?

I'd really appreciate some clarification from people with first-hand experience. Thanks!

Like many, I purchased Active Sky because I was a FSX & P3D user. I wanted to support the developer.

You will not know the value of AS for MS24 until you really need it. The other day, default live weather was not working, but since I have AS, all I had to do was enable it and I was pleasantly surprised to see how much better the weather was depicted than in previous versions of Active Sky. I also love the moving map. I open the ap on a different monitor and use it to monitor the weather throughout my flights.

Having said that, if you are looking for a complete weather package that depicts thunderstorm clouds with multiple layers and realistic turbulence, msfs v24 weather is just not there yet. It was promised, but not delivered. AS is currently not capable of delivering that type of weather. It only enhances the default weather and can at times depict the weather a little bit better.

So, the short answer to your questions is NO.

There are many user-configurable settings in ActiveSky that help compensate for the default weather behavior in MSFS 2020/2024. These include mechanical turbulence, mountain wave effects, gust modeling, thermals, visibility limitations, wind variability, and enhanced historical weather capabilities. The software also provides a wide range of configuration options across its menus, allowing for detailed customization of weather behavior.

However, the primary limitation of ActiveSky—and similar third-party solutions—remains the handling of weather transitions and cloud morphing. Despite claims that these transitions are smooth or unnoticeable, they are perceptible in operational use and can affect immersion and realism.

From a broader perspective, the core limitation lies within the simulator’s weather API. Asobo would need to further open and expand this interface, removing current constraints, in order to enable third-party developers to build a more fully dynamic and seamless weather system.

In my experience, after testing all available solutions on the market, the most significant remaining issues are weather transitions and cloud morphing. 

In this specific area, the native MSFS 2020/2024 weather system remains superior in terms of smoothness and visual continuity.

Can anyone tell me if AS is compatible with REX Atmos? The reason I ask, is that REX Atmos, for me anyway, has made the sim look absolutely gorgeous, so I hope the answer is yes.

Edited Tuesday at 06:44 PM2 days by Rocky_53

7 minutes ago, Rocky_53 said:

Can anyone tell me if AS is compatible with REX Atmos? The reason I ask, is that REX Atmos, for me anyway, has made the sim look absolutely gorgeous, so I hope the answer is yes.

YES it is!

IMO, default live weather is still the best option. When "live" weather works correctly, it an awesome visual experience and I don't even need ATMOS.

I'll add:

FSRealistic + and Real Turb are also compatible. But, they are not needed, especially when setting default turbulence to "realistic." It does a nice job simulating bumps and wake on final.

16 minutes ago, Rocky_53 said:

if AS is compatible with REX Atmos?

It's working, but there are many steps to follow. It's not one easy step. What I did was set AS as the WX engine with your customized settings, start REX, and use a subtle preset to avoid exaggerated colors or visibility settings. There are many variables to consider, and you will spend a lot of time getting somewhere. 

I just gave up; I have no patience for this, but it will work.

19 minutes ago, Rocky_53 said:

AS is compatible with REX Atmos?

I used this guide:

1) ActiveSky (Weather Engine – Physics First)

Core Philosophy

Prioritize real METAR fidelity + smooth interpolation, not dramatic weather morphing.

Recommended Settings

Weather Injection Mode

• ✔ Hybrid or Smooth Dynamic Mode (avoid pure “instant METAR”)

• ✔ Update interval: 5–15 min

Clouds

• Maximum layers: 6–8

• Coverage smoothing: ON

• Cloud transition smoothing: HIGH

Wind

• Gust realism: 70–85%

• Wind variation smoothing: ON

• Turbulence scale:

  • Low level: realistic (not enhanced)

  • Cruise: light to moderate only unless SIGMET

Thermals

• ✔ Enabled but reduced:

  • Strength: 30–50%

  • Avoid aggressive convective spikes (non-realistic in most airline ops)

Visibility

• Set to METAR-driven only

• Avoid artificial “ultra haze injection” if flying IFR/airline ops

Pressure / QNH

• ✔ Strict METAR sync enabled

---

2) REX Atmos CORE (Visual Layer – Subtle Airline Look)

Core Philosophy

Match real-world cockpit visibility perception, not cinematic lighting.

---

Sky / Color Grading

• Saturation: -5 to -15%

• Contrast: slightly reduced (-5%)

• Blue intensity: neutral to slightly muted

• Avoid:

  • Heavy “teal/orange” cinematic LUTs

  • Over-bright HDR skies

---

Haze / Visibility Rendering

• Haze intensity: realistic low-medium

• Horizon fade: subtle (important for cruise realism)

• Visibility smoothing: ON

• Avoid extreme “clarity boost” presets

👉 Real airline rule of thumb:

The horizon is often slightly washed, not crystal clear except in Arctic/high-altitude dry air.

---

Clouds (Visual Rendering Only)

• Cloud brightness: natural / slightly desaturated

• Cloud edge sharpness: medium (avoid cartoon crispness)

• Cloud shadow depth: moderate realism

• Lightning exaggeration: OFF or LOW

---

Lighting

• Sun bloom: low

• HDR glare: reduced

• Night lighting saturation: neutral (avoid neon airport look)

---

3) MSFS 2024 Core Weather & Graphics (Critical Layer)

Weather System

• Use ActiveSky as sole injector

• Disable any built-in MSFS live weather conflicts

---

Clouds (Sim Settings)

• Cloud quality: Ultra

• Volumetric detail: High or Ultra

• Cloud resolution scaling: 100–120% (RTX 4090 safe)

---

Atmospheric Effects

• LOD: High (not max extreme)

• Raymarched effects: ON

• Motion blur: OFF (real cockpit feel)

---

4) Real Airline Feel Adjustments (Important)

Turbulence Philosophy

Real airline turbulence is:

• Mostly light/moderate

• Occasional short bursts

• Rare sustained severe turbulence (avoided operationally)

So:

• Do NOT max turbulence sliders in ActiveSky

• Avoid “constant shaking cockpit” setups

---

Wind Shear / Transitions

• Keep shear realistic but not dramatic

• Sudden 50–100 kt shifts = unrealistic unless storm front

---

5) Operational Matching (What This Setup Feels Like)

With this profile, you will see:

✔ Stable cruise with subtle drift corrections
✔ Realistic cloud layering (not towering exaggeration everywhere)
✔ Smooth ATC/approach transitions
✔ Turbulence that feels like:

• Light chop in cruise

• Occasional bumps in cumulus

• Clear-air turbulence only in jetstream regions

✔ Runway visibility consistent with METAR (not over-simulated fog walls)

3 minutes ago, LRBS said:

It's working, but there are many steps to follow. It's not one easy step. What I did was set AS as the WX engine with your customized settings, start REX, and use a subtle preset to avoid exaggerated colors or visibility settings. There are many variables to consider, and you will spend a lot of time getting somewhere. 

I just gave up; I have no patience for this, but it will work.

I only use ATMOS with available presets. There are plenty to test. So it's not that hard to check if it works.

But, if you want to go manual, then it could be time consuming. Not recommended!

16 minutes ago, LRBS said:

I used this guide:

1) ActiveSky (Weather Engine – Physics First)

Core Philosophy

Prioritize real METAR fidelity + smooth interpolation, not dramatic weather morphing.

Recommended Settings

Weather Injection Mode

• ✔ Hybrid or Smooth Dynamic Mode (avoid pure “instant METAR”)

• ✔ Update interval: 5–15 min

Clouds

• Maximum layers: 6–8

• Coverage smoothing: ON

• Cloud transition smoothing: HIGH

Wind

• Gust realism: 70–85%

• Wind variation smoothing: ON

• Turbulence scale:

  • Low level: realistic (not enhanced)

  • Cruise: light to moderate only unless SIGMET

Thermals

• ✔ Enabled but reduced:

  • Strength: 30–50%

  • Avoid aggressive convective spikes (non-realistic in most airline ops)

Visibility

• Set to METAR-driven only

• Avoid artificial “ultra haze injection” if flying IFR/airline ops

Pressure / QNH

• ✔ Strict METAR sync enabled

---

2) REX Atmos CORE (Visual Layer – Subtle Airline Look)

Core Philosophy

Match real-world cockpit visibility perception, not cinematic lighting.

---

Sky / Color Grading

• Saturation: -5 to -15%

• Contrast: slightly reduced (-5%)

• Blue intensity: neutral to slightly muted

• Avoid:

  • Heavy “teal/orange” cinematic LUTs

  • Over-bright HDR skies

---

Haze / Visibility Rendering

• Haze intensity: realistic low-medium

• Horizon fade: subtle (important for cruise realism)

• Visibility smoothing: ON

• Avoid extreme “clarity boost” presets

👉 Real airline rule of thumb:

---

Clouds (Visual Rendering Only)

• Cloud brightness: natural / slightly desaturated

• Cloud edge sharpness: medium (avoid cartoon crispness)

• Cloud shadow depth: moderate realism

• Lightning exaggeration: OFF or LOW

---

Lighting

• Sun bloom: low

• HDR glare: reduced

• Night lighting saturation: neutral (avoid neon airport look)

---

3) MSFS 2024 Core Weather & Graphics (Critical Layer)

Weather System

• Use ActiveSky as sole injector

• Disable any built-in MSFS live weather conflicts

---

Clouds (Sim Settings)

• Cloud quality: Ultra

• Volumetric detail: High or Ultra

• Cloud resolution scaling: 100–120% (RTX 4090 safe)

---

Atmospheric Effects

• LOD: High (not max extreme)

• Raymarched effects: ON

• Motion blur: OFF (real cockpit feel)

---

4) Real Airline Feel Adjustments (Important)

Turbulence Philosophy

Real airline turbulence is:

• Mostly light/moderate

• Occasional short bursts

• Rare sustained severe turbulence (avoided operationally)

So:

• Do NOT max turbulence sliders in ActiveSky

• Avoid “constant shaking cockpit” setups

---

Wind Shear / Transitions

• Keep shear realistic but not dramatic

• Sudden 50–100 kt shifts = unrealistic unless storm front

---

5) Operational Matching (What This Setup Feels Like)

With this profile, you will see:

✔ Stable cruise with subtle drift corrections
✔ Realistic cloud layering (not towering exaggeration everywhere)
✔ Smooth ATC/approach transitions
✔ Turbulence that feels like:

• Light chop in cruise

• Occasional bumps in cumulus

• Clear-air turbulence only in jetstream regions

✔ Runway visibility consistent with METAR (not over-simulated fog walls)

Mh, to which version of Active Sky is this guide related to? I have Active Sky FS, version 9495, and i can hardly find half of the settings mentioned here.

1 hour ago, ankh21 said:

Mh, to which version of Active Sky is this guide related to? I have Active Sky FS, version 9495, and i can hardly find half of the settings mentioned here.

In that version of ActiveSky and MSFS, all of the options I mentioned should be available. I tested them myself, and they were working at the time. The ActiveSky documentation and menus should explain each setting in detail.

I don't have ActiveSky installed anymore because I found it added too many background processes for my liking. For me, it felt like it was just trying to put lipstick on a pig.

Hopefully someone who still has it installed can walk you through the exact steps or confirm where each setting is located. Sorry.

1 hour ago, CFIJose said:

But, if you want to go manual, then it could be time consuming. Not recommended!

For sure, I spent hours and hours trying something different.