Which is more accurate - Info Metar or importing weathe

[Guest]

Which do you people find is more accurate - using Info-Metar for weather downloads, or importing the weather directly into Fly from the Fly server (now that it is working again)? Is there really any difference?Thanks,Chris

[Guest]

Once I sorted out Info Metar, its worked great for me. Tho' sometimes the runways are covered in clouds were I think they would be a little higher or just fog even. I imported it before but found it wasnt as good or didnt work. Info metar I believe from reading in this forum simplyfies the metar so it is understood better by Fly.I hope this helps your question?All the best!Steve

[RandallR 444]

Chris,At the outset, it's not really a matter of accuracy. If you don't edit the metar in any way, then the result would be the same. Infometar would download the same metar that the Fly! server would.With Infometar you can do much more, however, and the end result is more accuracy. Infometar downloads the data from the NOAA server even if the Fly! server is down. If the NOAA server goes down (it happens), then you can download the metar info from other sites - Infometar will then convert them for Fly! compatibility.Infometar can be used to "thin" a metar report (remove uneeded stations beyond the flight path to improve performance of Fly!). Also, thinning removes metar reports that may "interfere" with a proper weather translation because of their proximity. If you have too many reports close together, Fly! won't be able to interpret them properly. Infometar also allows for adjustments of the metar reports to aid Fly!II in proper interpretation - it has a modification option set that adjusts for rain, storms, cloud height, etc.As it stands, total "accuracy" is a Fly!II problem, not an Infometar issue. Fly!II still has difficulty interpolating metar data correctly and that is being worked on in the beta team. When it comes to downloading, optimizing and organizing metar data, you can't beat Infometar.

[Guest]

Thanks guys!Chris

[Guest]

Nice answer Chris, Im more in the picture myself now. When I sat back and thought about it, I could understand...... for me and my "grey cells", thats a first.Steve :-lol

[Guest]

I usually import my metar file without using Infometar; just habit really. I thne read in the file to I.M. from the desktop. What I find so wonderful about I.M. is in its use as a pre-flight weather briefer. The 'thinning option" also insures the best available performance within FLY

[Guest DSandberg]

Woohoo! :-smile12 In all seriousness, I'm always particularly happy to hear that someone is finding InfoMETAR useful in this way, as I spent gobs of time on the InfoMETAR UI in the hopes of making the perusal of METAR sets as painless and intuitive a process as possible. I'd say that the majority of InfoMETAR users seem to remain primarily interested in how the program can download, adjust or thin the METARs, moreso than how it can instantly show them to you en masse and graphically. So comments like this make my day ... thanks!- David Sandberg[br][br]

[rodger 0]

Hi David,I like the interface of IM very much. and I use it for my weather briefing since day one!Thanks again for this great programm. Couldn`t live without it anymore.Rodger :-beerchug

[Guest]

Hi Dave,Yip its a must have program for any FlyII user. The only problem is my video card is only a 16 meg things and doesnt like to much of anything, to many clouds and Im an trouble. But soon Im going to upgrade so your program will be used for every flight.Once I found that I had to type in the correct area where the Fly II metar folder is I was away in the UK rain enjoying a rough landing at Liverpool, just as it was a bit earlyer....A big thankyou for your hard work.Steve

[Guest]

I like the interface of IM very much. and I use it for my weather briefing since day one!How do you do this? You mean you import the file & then look at the graphical map in Fly2 to see the general weather (winds, rain, etc.) & then read the info that comes up in the weather - overall menu? Is that how you use it as a weather briefing?Thanks,Chris Catalano

[Guest DSandberg]

No, the graphical map in Fly2 doesn't change in content whether you are using InfoMETAR or not. I think he means that he uses the map in InfoMETAR itself when planning his flight, before even starting Fly2, as the InfoMETAR screen shows a lot more weather detail in a single glance than any flight sim does (or at least the ones I know of). That's how I do my preflight prep as well.- David Sandberg[br][br]

[Guest]

The way I use it is to first double click on my departure and destination airports, this pulls up the english translation of the metar report which I then note on my flight palnning sheet. I then lay out my flight path and note any sigmet along the route. I also use the 'flight info' to get my total milage for the route which I then use for fuel calculation. Final use is to thin the metars and save as the 'Thinmetar' file in FLY. Now that I have the wx for my departure and arrival points, I then pull up the appropriate approach plates (from SimPlates). If there is a relevant SID for the departure I use that. I also can then plan my approach for the correct runway at the destination. All this is done before FLY is even opened. Infometar makes it all possible and will live on my HD no matter what sim I use in the future. ;-)

[Guest]

"The way I use it is to first double click on my departure and destination airports, this pulls up the english translation of the metar report which I then note on my flight palnning sheet."The english translation...you mean that there is something that appears in paragraph form that is a summary of the weather?Next -I then lay out my flight path and note any sigmet along the route. What does "sigmet" mean? Sorry - I'm dense! :-)I also use the 'flight info' to get my total milage for the route Lastly - where is "flight info"? I would LOVE to do all of this before ever entering Fly2! Sounds awesome! I'm dying to put it all together like you guys are doing so I don't have to enter Fly2 to do my flight planning!Thanks Mike!Sincerely,Chris

[Guest]

Actually - never mind Mike - I just did some discovery & found the help file & read the whole thing! It is AMAZING! I can't wait to try it now! BTW - I am supposed to use the info on Nautical Miles, not statute miles, for fuel calculations right? Fly2 uses nautical air miles when describing the distance from one point to another? Thanks!Sincerely,Chris

[RandallR 444]

Nautical miles it is.