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    Windy.com introduces soaring forecast

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    • mteugelsM
      mteugels @Korina | Premium
      last edited by

      @korina Great Idea . Any chance to have PFD (Potential flight distance) based on the normal 18M span like Topmeteo/Skysight does ? Many thanks !

      KorinaK 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
      • KorinaK
        Korina @mteugels
        last edited by

        @mteugels We will consider it :)

        Korina

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • TZT
          TZ Administrator
          last edited by

          Hi, we are planning to add some more features, but not everything. The way we are walking is not a detailed flight calculator for questions like "how many points can I get tomorrow with my specific glider?", but rather "is it going to be good weather tomorrow?". For better insights we are planning to add/improve meteograms for points or routes and also improve sounding. These tools should work well together and be part of whole Windy ecosystem with all its features and layers.
          Would you for example be interested in maximum climb displayed as isolines?

          L 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 7
          • L
            luglidz @TZ | Premium
            last edited by

            @tz What about maximum climb displayed as a line in the cloud box in an Airgram (similar to how you show the "pressure" line in a Meteogram).

            And I would love to see thermals AGL. This would be a better indicator for the expectable strength. Additionally, it would be easier to see, where the liftier airmasses are located.

            TZT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
            • gerrymcnicolG
              gerrymcnicol @Korina | Premium
              last edited by

              @korina Fantastic. Love it.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • TZT
                TZ Administrator @luglidz
                last edited by

                @luglidz maximal climb as a line is one of features we consider.
                Any AGL maps are problematic. It could be easily misunderstood. Also the topography of all models is very coarse, all mountains are much smaller than real mountains. So we are trying to avoid AGL maps. But height above ground could be rendered in a meteogram or other detailed chart.

                rittelsR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • rittelsR
                  rittels Code contributor @TZ | Premium
                  last edited by rittels

                  Great layer @Filip_K !

                  @luglidz

                  Here is a fun thing you can do:

                  Open http://www.windy.com/plugins/windy-plugin-da

                  then go to the thermal layer, and the picker will show thermal AGL, also PA and DA.

                  (As @TZ said, elevation rather course, I use SRTM 1km resolution, so dont rely on this, else you might hit a mountain.)

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • chrabC
                    chrab @vicb | Premium
                    last edited by

                    @vicb It's great! Thanks.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • ozoneO
                      ozone @vicb | Premium
                      last edited by

                      @vicb
                      Cant see thermals listed as a change colors option. Everything else is there, just not thermals

                      You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky
                      -amelia earhart

                      vicbV 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • Avolar1A
                        Avolar1
                        last edited by Avolar1

                        Thank you very much, I am a paragliding pilot and this is very good!

                        KorinaK 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                        • KorinaK
                          Korina @Avolar1
                          last edited by

                          @avolar1 Happy to hear it!

                          Korina

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                          • vicbV
                            vicb Paraglider @ozone | Premium
                            last edited by vicb

                            @ozone towards the beginning of the list

                            c1384c60-e599-4a6e-8691-0685c5d64401-image.png

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • T
                              TaaviS
                              last edited by

                              Great work!

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • Luscombe8eL
                                Luscombe8e Pilot | Premium
                                last edited by

                                So Great to see this, Yes it is going to need work. I am in the eastern US, as much as I prefer the ECMWF, the thermal forecast seems to best be depicted in reality by the GFS. Both ICON and ECMWF are way off when compared to other soaring forecast tools which have been honed and perfected over years for a specific type forecast. Thanks WIndy, I appreciate this and as with everything else you do, I am absolutely sure this will improve with time!

                                TZT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • Luscombe8eL
                                  Luscombe8e Pilot @vicb | Premium
                                  last edited by

                                  @vicb tried it , it freezes up on me

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • khalilahliK
                                    khalilahli | Premium
                                    last edited by

                                    Please gradient colors consistently and clearly on the convection areas

                                    KorinaK 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • Dariusz1964D
                                      Dariusz1964 | Premium
                                      last edited by

                                      A very useful app, thanks

                                      darek1964

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • K
                                        KLSSoaring @Korina
                                        last edited by

                                        @korina - I'm really pleased to see this feature being added.

                                        Just looking at it this morning, its a bit too coarse to be useful to a soaring pilot. Its telling me, for example, that a broad area over central California will have 6 knt thermals today in the afternoon. Its smoothed from the coast to the Sierra Mtns. Here's a screenshot showing the current prediction for thermals:

                                        ![0_1621784200945_74b1b006-cb5f-42e6-a37a-c77937672072-image.png](Uploading 100%)

                                        Experience and other tools tell me (1) there is cloud in some areas today, (2) thermal lift is rarely or never smoothly distributed from coast to mountains like that and (3) its not going to be that strong. Here's a screenshot from Skysight showing what's more likely to be seen for thermal distribution and strength today.

                                        3f363e4e-3cb4-4a4c-bc95-9b0f52513fc7-image.png

                                        Maybe there's no practical way to use better resolution and produce more localized predictions, but something more like the above Skysight image is what glider pilots would hope to see.

                                        vicbV 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • vicbV
                                          vicb Paraglider @KLSSoaring | Premium
                                          last edited by

                                          @klssoaring It's not 6knt - the layer shows top of lift (meters or ft)

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                                          • S
                                            skydog | Premium
                                            last edited by

                                            This looks really useful, will it be possible to indicate thermal strength as well as forecast height?

                                            KorinaK 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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