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    Windy.com introduces soaring forecast

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    • SwairCareS Offline
      SwairCare @Korina | Premium
      last edited by

      @korina
      waiting for thermals/ soaring to be finished.😀
      I have a question and proposal for enhancing the the thermal layer GUI/ view according to many comments.
      Q1: thermal Hight = usable hight? - is cloudbase defined as usable hight when clouds is formed by the thermals?

      Proposal:
      P2: have "elevation curves" for usable thermal hight (incl
      cloudbase )
      P3: the colour indicate average climbrate..
      (as completely they can be calculated on known data )
      P4: keep cloud symbols.
      P5: wind Particles animation (no colour) "under" point P2 -P5above.

      with these in same view, I believe this will be a great overview where the flying conditions is the best..
      (use to decide where to go and get a good general overview in a little wider area.
      Also possible to see general routes for long distances.
      for more details, most users probably look at different parameters /layers to make up their mind how flying will be
      /brgds
      sverker.forslin@gmail.com

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
      • hemersonrH Offline
        hemersonr Paraglider
        last edited by

        great feature!!! I am using for planning my flights here in brazil

        HRS CONSULTORIA E TREINAMENTOS
        Ampliando a consciência no voo de parapente

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • AberhangieA Offline
          Aberhangie @Korina
          last edited by

          @Korina HI Corina.
          As a Glider and Hang Glider pilot I like the idea. So far though not proving too useful. Cloud base is not that useful on it's own , the speed of convection (m/s vertical) is more important as when this drops to less than the glider sink rate you stop going up! Have a look at how RASP (https://rasp.stratus.org.uk/index.php/rasptable-desktop) works, in particular the "Star Rating" and the "Thermaling height" .

          Nice to see this type of feature arriving on Windy!

          Thanks

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • Rikou04R Offline
            Rikou04 | Premium
            last edited by

            Excellent, une précision très satisfaisante
            Je suis sur Planeur sur LFNF ( Vinon sur Verdon )
            bon Vélivole

            E.D

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
            • Mariusz PozniakM Offline
              Mariusz Pozniak
              last edited by

              Thanks for more layers added for Thermals. I am more and more convinced to use this feature. But the range (altitude) of lifts is not all we (gliders pilots) are looking for. Most important is the average themal strength (the vertical speed which we sse on variometers while climbing). Is it something conected to the buoyancy of the air particle? Can you consider to add such thing? Best regards. Mariusz Poźniak

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              • Q Offline
                quebectango | Premium
                last edited by

                The granularity of thermal height is not fine enough.

                QT

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                • Keshka KoteraK Offline
                  Keshka Kotera
                  last edited by

                  I like it very much. Done in such a way that a huge amount of information is shown at a glance. Since it is new and I have only just started using it, accuracy is in question.

                  OBTW, I asked and they provided! NOAA is now creating a soaring forecast for Baker City Oregon! WOOT! Perhaps you can integrate some of their information?

                  KorinaK 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • KorinaK Offline
                    Korina @Keshka Kotera
                    last edited by

                    @Keshka-Kotera We will consider it, thank you.

                    Korina

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • alex.panzeriA Offline
                      alex.panzeri
                      last edited by

                      Not only for pilot it will be useful but also for sailors, I would say that 90% of inshore regattas are governed by this meteo event.
                      On lake of lecco/como, we have 2 wind, Tivano, from North from around 05-06:00L till 10:00L and later the Breva from south from 12-13:00 till 16-17:00 (maybe you are more familiar with those on Lago di Garda, l'Ora and Peler).
                      We are using also the graphic of the Swiss Pressure Gradient of the Foehn to have a trend indication.
                      As I'm an ex pilot with aeronautical Technical’s degree at high shcool and a decade at airspace engineers, it's sad to see sailors don't assimilate the concept of Thermal (in theory with a barometer it's possible to make some forecast of the field).

                      Alex p.

                      idefix37I 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                      • idefix37I Online
                        idefix37 Sailor Moderator @alex.panzeri
                        last edited by

                        @alex-panzeri said in Windy.com introduces soaring forecast:

                        it's sad to see sailors don't assimilate the concept of Thermal

                        I don't entirely agree with you. At sea, when we look at the coastline lined with cumulus clouds to confirm the sea breeze conditions, we say that 'the thermal is developing', that is to say that the breeze will soon establish itself in the afternoon. Even if the knowledge of sailors on the thermal is not so thorough, they know at sea the reasons for the coastal breezes.
                        For those who sail on lakes in mountainous regions, the thermal is a very good indicator of the coming mountain breezes on these lakes. But it is still necessary to know very well the local winds direction, or to use high resolution models such as AROME or ICON-D2 on Windy on wider lakes.

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                        • mipaolinoM Offline
                          mipaolino | Premium
                          last edited by

                          It works pretty well in South America, thanks for adding this feature

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                          • N Offline
                            nielsdavison | Premium
                            last edited by

                            nice addition t windy, would be nice to see calculate speed of lifting

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • rbarbsR Offline
                              rbarbs | Premium
                              last edited by

                              The thermal layer is useful as a very broad overview, but it is too inaccurate to use meaningfully beyond 'the day looks interesting'.

                              The sounding plugin very accurately predicts cloudbase/top of climbs. If this layer could use the same algorithm as that, it would be brilliant.

                              On a related note, I find the new 'sounding' that is embedded in windy better than the old one, but again the sounding plugin is far simpler, more accurate (within the boundary layer).

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • N Offline
                                Nellybonelly | Premium
                                last edited by

                                I like it a lot. Adding an airspace display would be very valuable for planning soaring flights.

                                Filip_KF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • Filip_KF Offline
                                  Filip_K Windy Staff @Nellybonelly
                                  last edited by

                                  @Nellybonelly You can add airspaces from openAIP using Airspaces plugin
                                  Screenshot_20230317_121315.png Screenshot_20230317_121338.png
                                  Screenshot_20230317_121132.png

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • C Offline
                                    Cub Driver | Premium
                                    last edited by

                                    Thanks for adding this forecast to your model. I’m a glider pilot with over 1000 hours. SkySight is a great example of what competitive glider pilots are using now.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • A Offline
                                      ajbeevers | Premium
                                      last edited by ajbeevers

                                      Hi @Korina and team,

                                      It's fantastic you introduced the UKV model, but there seems to be an error in the thermal map. Somehow, particularly earlier in the day, there's a lot of grey indicating zero thermals whereas other models (and indeed the UKV soundings) suggest thermals.

                                      I've noticed this on several days, but as an example please see the screenshots below of tomorrow's forecast @1300.

                                      UKV
                                      UKV

                                      ECMWF
                                      ECMWF

                                      GFS
                                      GFS

                                      ICONEU
                                      ICONEU

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                                      • hemersonrH Offline
                                        hemersonr Paraglider @Filip_K
                                        last edited by

                                        @Filip_K perfect information and quality dor this new layer congrats

                                        HRS CONSULTORIA E TREINAMENTOS
                                        Ampliando a consciência no voo de parapente

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • laisvayL Offline
                                          laisvay
                                          last edited by

                                          Thank you!

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • A Offline
                                            AE38
                                            last edited by

                                            Hello, would you please tell me how much longer the beta on soaring info will continue? As well how much is the premium fee after the beta concludes?
                                            Thank you

                                            SutyS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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