Any tips to make best use of

[Guest cliff]

1. Is there a difference between "Local" and Global" downloads of Real Weather? The weather looks the same no matter which I choose.2. The weather information in the relevant windows such as wind direction, rain, cloud levels and so on seem to have no relationship to the Real Weather. Is that info available?3. I'd appreciate tips to get the best from this facility.Cliff (In Spain)

[Guest Heather 636]

Check out this excellent article by Bill Rambow. I used to select "Local" but now go to global. His article will tell you everything you need to know.[http://www.dc3airways.com/rwx_dca.htm]From the article:Quote:NOTE: If you download weather data with the Local box checked, that's all you are going to get. Outside of the area where your plane is located at the time you make the download, you will not have realistic weather. This means that if you fly out of the local weather area you may encounter completely different weather conditions and no transition - you could be in a blizzard one minute and a hot sunny day the next. UnquoteCheers!Heather

[Guest cliff]

Heather, you're the tops. Just the sort of information I wanted. A Gold star for you........And, incidentally, I laughed at that joke about the propellor so here's one from me. A blonde and a lawyer were seated next to each other on a flight from LA to NY. The lawyer asked if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde, tired, just wanted to take a nap, politelydeclined and rolled over to the window to catch a few winks. The lawyer persisted and said that the game is easy and a lot of fun. He explained, "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5.00, and vise versa." Again, shedeclined and tried to get some sleep. The lawyer, now agitated, said, "Okay, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5.00, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500.00." This caught the blonde's attention and, figuring there would be no end to this torment unless she played, agreed to the game. The lawyer asked the first question. "What's the distance fromthe earth to the moon?" The blonde didn't say a word, reached into her purse, pulled out a $5.00 bill and handed it to the lawyer. "Okay," said the lawyer, "your turn." She asked the lawyer, "What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four legs?" The lawyer, puzzled, took out his laptop computer and searched all his references, no answer. He tapped into the air phone with his modem and searched the net and the Library of Congress,no answer. Frustrated, he sent emails to all his friends and coworkers, to no avail. After an hour, he woke the blonde, and handed her $500.00. The blonde said, "Thank you," and turned back to get some more sleep. The lawyer, who was more than a little miffed, woke the blonde and asked, "Well, what's the answer?" Without a word, the blonde reached into her purse, handed the lawyer $5.00, and went back to sleep. And you thought blondes were dumb .

[Guest Heather 636]

:-lol :-lol :-lolTHAT was good. I'm not blonde but it's about time they got a break.Thanks for the funny!Cheers!Heather

[Guest Heather 636]

One other thing regarding Real World Weather, and this is only for associate realism nuts like me, when I am engaged in a long flight lasting more than an hour and a half, I generally download the weather again on the hour, every hour, from takeoff time.Can't speak for other parts of the world but if there's any places like Arkansas, that's how often conditions can change. A saying around here, "If you don't like the weather, wait an hour."Cheers!Bad Weather Heather

[Guest cliff]

Hourly downloads? Sounds sense. Another Gold Star, Heather.Now another query for the "Associate Realism Nut"Do you have a shortish, favourite airport or flight for me to try?I offer you Aspen-Pitkin Co/Sardy in Colorado. 7,718 feet above sea level and set it for winter. I don't want to bore you but a good laugh is usually welcome. I originally hail from South Africa and my wife is from Zimbabwe so this flying story about Zimbabwe is pretty real to me...This is a story published in the Chicago Tribune "Travel" section for Sunday, June 6, 1999 in a story entitled "Choppy Sides - A white-knuckle flight on Air Zimbabwe" by Gaby Plattner.It seems that Plattner was travelling with a backpacking group through Africa as they found themselves waiting in Kariba airport for a flight to Hwange."Our flight was delayed, so we settled down to wait. And wait.Three hours later, we were finally told the plane was ready to board. Air Zimbabwe bought many of its planes second- hand from other airlines, and the one we got into was no exception. Dirty and ancient, the mid-size jetliner was clearly one that no one else had wanted.Inside, we settled into the seats with 80 or 90 other passengers and waited. And waited some more. Finally, the pilot's voice came over he loudspeaker. 'We're all ready to go ladies and gentlemen. However, we've been waiting for the copilot, and he still hasn't arrived. Since we've already waited so long, we're just going to be flying without a copilot today.'There was a nervous buzz through the cabin. He continued, 'If any of you feel uncomfortable with this, feel free to disembark now and Air Zimbabwe we will put you on the next available flight to Hwange.'Here, he paused. 'Unfortunately, we are not sure when that will be. But rest assured, I have flown this route hundreds of times, we have clear blue sides, and there are no foreseeable problems.'No one in Plattner's group wanted to wait any longer at Kariba for a plane that may or may not materialize, so they stayed onboard for the one-hour flight.Once the aircraft reached cruising altitude, the pilot came on the loudspeaker again : "Ladies and gentlemen. I am going to use the toilet. I have put the plane on auto-pilot and everything will be fine. I just don't want you to worry."That said, he went out of the cockpit and fastened the door open with a rubber band to a hook on the wall. Then he went to the toilet.Plattner continues: Suddenly, we hit a patch of turbulence. Nothing much, the cabin just shook a little for a moment. But the rubber band snapped off with a loud 'ping!' and went sailing down the aisle. The door promptly swung shut.A moment later, the pilot came out of the bathroom. When he saw the closed door, he stopped cold. I watched him from the back and wondered what was wrong. The stewardess came running up, and together they both tried to open the door. But it wouldn't budge.It slowly dawned on me that our pilot was locked out of the cockpit. Cockpit doors lock automatically from the inside to prevent terrorists from entering. Without a copilot, there was no one to open the door from the inside.By now, the rest of the passengers had become aware of the problem, and we watched the pilot, horrified. What would he do? After a moment of contemplation, he hurried to the back of the plane and returned holding a big axe. Without ceremony, he proceeded to chop down the cockpit door. We were rooted to our seats as we watched him. Once he managed to chop a holein the door, he reached inside, unlocked the door, and let himself back in.Then he came on the loudspeaker, his voice a little shakier this time. 'Ah, ladies and gentlemen, we have just had a little problem, but everything is fine now. We have plans to cover every eventuality, even pilots getting locked out of their cockpits. So relax and enjoy the rest of the flight!"Yours,Cliff

[Guest]

Hi,I also thank you for pointing out that article. One thing I wish we could do is get the Winds Aloft for cruise altitude planning. It seems like some clever person ought to be able to devise a program to translate the downloaded data.For longer flights, I just use the original weather downloaded rather than update it (slow modem, for one thing). My thoughts are that I didn't know the weather there, anyhow, so it is still "new". But if flying back to an area after leaving for a while, I'd probably do a fresh download.And, the joke was hilarious...Take care,Kurt

[Guest Heather 636]

That was pretty good! Not to mention probably extremely embarrassing for the pilot.Speaking of embarrassing, I don't recall the full gist of the story but it was in a popular magazine like Time or Newsweek or the sort some years back.An airliner was in the Pacific somewhere and for some reason found that they had insufficient fuel to make their "official" stop for such. No problem as the pilots carried a company credit card for such emergencies, therefore he landed at an airport somewhere in Indonesia I believe.As it turned out, the officials at this airport would not accept his company credit card so, lacking insufficient cash, went amongst the passengers passing round his hat collecting money for fuel.Needless to say, the passengers were later reimbursed. ;)As far as short airfields, here's two for you.Try landing at VNKL Lukla, runway 7 in Nepal. This is where climbers and gear are dropped off for the trek up Everest.The takeoffs, on the other hand, are quite easy, just roll until you drop off the cliff, nose down for airspeed and you're on your way.I fly for DC Airways, a virtual airline dedicated to the DC-3. Believe it or not, this next flight is one of those on your initial check flights when joining the airline. On this next flight, try getting a DC-3 into here without sticking your nose into the men's room!I will admit, after I actually finally managed to do so after numerous go-arounds, that Charles Wood, President of the airline, informed that the tress have gotten taller since FS2000. Their not now of course, the top portions are lodged in my landing gear!Dolgeville, New York 1F6, Runway 11By the way, here's the Airport Remarks from the FAA Airport/Facility Directory: Unattended. There is no definite edge for Rwy 11 which is part of a playing field. Athletics may be going on from Aug. to Nov. Radio Control airplanes in vicinity of Rwy throughout the year. Rwy 11/29 soft and wet during spring. Trees at approach end of Rwy 29.I also noticed something, at least I found to be an amusing coincidence. When flying in India and going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, the letters for that airport are VIAG. get it? VIAG, Agra.maybe it's an American thing. You can't go a day here without seeing advertisements for this new sex wonder drug.Cheers!Heather

[Guest cliff]

I tried Dolgeville in the Archer and just managed it with a 35% fuel load. But to attempt it in a DC3....Lukla..now there's really something! A great find for me and I thank you. Can you tell me which is Mount Everest?C.

[Guest Heather 636]

I no longer have my FS NAvigator flight plan but looking back through my flight logs came up with these coordinates.N27

[Guest cliff]

Thanks pal.I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.Now off to bed!

[Chris Willis 8]

Cliff, Look here http://www.microsoft.com/games/fs2000/articles_globalwx.aspAlso there will be new update for some tips and trick for fs2002 weather.here at the bottom of the page:http://fsw.simflight.com/FSWFs2k2Clouds.htmlThanksChris Willis[link:fsw.simflight.com/FSWMenuFsSim.html]Clouds And Addons For MsFshttp://fsw.simflight.com/fsw.jpg

[Guest cliff]

Heather can you point me in the right direction to learn about Virtual Airlines please?I want to read about what they do and how they work before deciding whether it appeals to me.Regards.................Cliff

[Guest Heather 636]

G'Day Cliff!I can't speak for the other virtual airlines as I have not tried any of them. I'm a classic aircraft fan; my family often having said that I was born far too late in the twentieth century. I should have been around back in the days of Earhart, Bessica Raiche, Amy Johnson, etc.The one I fly for is called DC Airways and flies almost exclusively the DC-3. There is one flight, I believe based on it's historical race, that allows the flight of the DC-2. DCA follows the atmosphere of flying back in the late forties and fifties. To learn more and much better than i could describe it, go to:[http://www.dc3airways.com/entry.html]They have a large number of pre-made flights to participate in, entirely of your choice and order. Although I haven't tried "online" flying yet, DCA is also partnered with ATSIM, using the call letters DCA.One of the things I have come to greatly enjoy and appreciate is the varied flights they offer on their "routes." Flying with FS2002 solo, or lone wolf per se, you can only think up so many variations for something new to do.Going through DCA's flights have put me in conditions of night flying, IFR, Zero visibility, VHF only (such as the 1917-1927 mail route I am on now), etc. They have helped me considerably to hone my flying skills.And, besides all that, they're a great group of guys over there. I am the only woman with the fleet and they do a wonderful job of tolerating me. ;)Anyway, check out their site. Only you can decide if this is for you.Cheers!Heather

[Guest cliff]

Thanks for those sites Chris.What I'm not sure of is whether the "Global" setting gives the weather at the departure airport and changes the weather to the actual conditions along the route. If that's the case what's the point of the "Local" setting?Or is "Local" just for the details in the "Advanced" window?Regards............Cliff