Could you please add functionality to the flight planning so one knows what weather to expect enroute, as well as on destination with active runways etc. So a weather report system for the live weather. METAR, Winds aloft, Air pressure etc.
There desperately needs a way to simply view the live weather (winds/cloud layers) ahead of time. Simply load the live weather into the already-present weather editor would do the trick. Then you can review before deciding.
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Currently it is very hard to plan a flight because there’s no way to see the weather conditions at your desired altitude. Being able to see the cloud profiles/winds and metars in the flight planning sections would be very helpful.
Rex to the rescue? (The link goes to an MSFS offering! - but only coming soon)
Use Simbrief for flight planning. It incorporates weather.
Will it reflect the weather from the Sim?
No. It uses real world weather. But if you have Live weather turned on in MSFS then it will match.
Good idea!
Mod merged my topic with this but I’ll post a snippet of what I had on my mind concerning the flight planner webpage:
- More detailed RADAR and satellite imagery
The current ability to view a looping radar mosaic in the flight planner is wildly understated right now. This should be improved if possible, however. Higher definition would be a great start, as the current resolution is at best suggestive of what the weather model is providing. A resolution approaching what on-board radar would depict is not necessary, but a loop with 15 minute steps would be incredibly useful. This describes the overall behavior of a system, the speed at which it’s moving, structure… all things that should be taken into consideration before the wheels leave the ground. In the same vein, a more representative display of cloud cover in the way of satellite imagery would have great value.
- Echo tops/cell motion
This goes along with increased radar detail. Products that depict echo tops are an important tool that determines the possibility of topping precipitation that is being depicted. Convective weather that is tapping out at FL250 is much less spicier than tops vaulting to FL450. Usually these markers are in conjunction with symbology that denotes overall movement and speed of the depicted weather.
- AIRMETs/SIGMETs
I won’t use this time to go into detail about what exactly these things are, but as an outside observer, it seems like these forecast products could be easily created dynamically based upon certain parameters that exist within the live weather model.
- PIREPs (and not the VA type)
A more social aspect that could be included is the ability for players to submit PIREPs of current in-flight conditions. Visibility, turbulence, winds aloft… These are all values that could be automatically populated and submitted should the player desire, making them available to others as a “peek” into the model.
- Better wind barbs
Wind barbs, while available, are currently very sparse. These should be denser to give a better idea of winds aloft.
If we’re really meant to enjoy a “digital twin” of the earth in a modern setting, then we should also be provided tools that approximate the vast amount of information that is available in the real world. Surely there is enough information available by virtue of how the Live Weather model works to support weather products such as these.
After spending some time with the new flight planner, I’m of the opinion that it is good, but perhaps not for the reason you think. Ever since we were introduced to Live Weather in MSFS2020, what we will actually experience in the simulator has always been somewhat of a surprise. Yes, updates made things align better with real world sources. Eventually we could even query METARs. That, however, has never been good enough. I’ll explain.
In the flight planning phase with MSFS2020, the most you could count on was weather at your departure, perhaps weather at your destination, and an amorphous blob to depict en route precipitation. That was it. No detailed NEXRAD (or non-US equivalent). No TAFs. While someone could conceivably interpolate with real world sources what they’d find along the way (me), they really had no actual idea what they’d find until they got there. Now, with the flight planner, we have a source to display METARs, rudimentary radar, and even a TAF. This information affects a lot. For example, alternate planning, fuel planning, route planning, cruise altitude selection… These are all aspects of critical decision making processes that are directly affected by the weather, and not having the information available to do that is limiting. What I propose is the honing or inclusion of several pieces of information to the flight planner that will provide a much more well-rounded and realistic experience.
- More detailed RADAR and satellite imagery
The current ability to view a looping radar mosaic in the flight planner is wildly understated right now. This should be improved if possible, however. Higher definition would be a great start, as the current resolution is at best suggestive of what the weather model is providing. A resolution approaching what on-board radar would depict is not necessary, but a loop with 15 minute steps would be incredibly useful. This describes the overall behavior of a system, the speed at which it’s moving, structure… all things that should be taken into consideration before the wheels leave the ground. In the same vein, a more representative display of cloud cover in the way of satellite imagery would have great value.
- Echo tops/cell motion
This goes along with increased radar detail. Products that depict echo tops are an important tool that determines the possibility of topping precipitation that is being depicted. Convective weather that is tapping out at FL250 is much less spicier than tops vaulting to FL450. Usually these markers are in conjunction with symbology that denotes overall movement and speed of the depicted weather.
- AIRMETs/SIGMETs
I won’t use this time to go into detail about what exactly these things are, but as an outside observer, it seems like these forecast products could be easily created dynamically based upon certain parameters that exist within the live weather model.
- PIREPs (and not the VA type)
A more social aspect that could be included is the ability for players to submit PIREPs of current in-flight conditions. Visibility, turbulence, winds aloft… These are all values that could be automatically populated and submitted should the player desire, making them available to others as a “peek” into the model.
- Better wind barbs
Wind barbs, while available, are currently very sparse. These should be denser to give a better idea of winds aloft.
If we’re really meant to enjoy a “digital twin” of the earth in a modern setting, then we should also be provided tools that approximate the vast amount of information that is available in the real world. Surely there is enough information available by virtue of how the Live Weather model works to support weather products such as these.
The flight planner is good. If it had more in the way of informaton about the in-game weather, it could be amazing.