Snowdonia Sunrise

Paul Saunders

Did anyone see the sunrise in Snowdonia today, or better yet, photograph it?

I was flying around in my flight sim at sunrise using real time weather and
there was a beautiful sunrise to the east as the rain headed in from the
west. Of course, it was only a sim, so I'm wondering what it really looked
like.

I have screenshots for comparison if anyone has any photos. But a
description would be better than nothing.

Paul
--
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http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/
Latest Post
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Brian

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 22:02:12 -0000, "Paul Saunders"
<pvs1@wildwales.fsnet.co.uk> mentioned:

>Did anyone see the sunrise in Snowdonia today, or better yet, photograph it?
>
>I was flying around in my flight sim at sunrise using real time weather and
>there was a beautiful sunrise to the east as the rain headed in from the
>west. Of course, it was only a sim, so I'm wondering what it really looked
>like.
>
>I have screenshots for comparison if anyone has any photos. But a
>description would be better than nothing.
>
>Paul

Don't know about futher south in the mountains but down here on
Anglesey I didn't notice it as anything special - partly cloudy sky
but no rain tho'.

Brian

Dundonald

On Nov 24, 10:02 pm, "Paul Saunders" <p...@wildwales.fsnet.co.uk>
wrote:
> Did anyone see the sunrise in Snowdonia today, or better yet, photograph it?
>
> I was flying around in my flight sim at sunrise using real time weather

How's that work?

>and
> there was a beautiful sunrise to the east as the rain headed in from the
> west. Of course, it was only a sim, so I'm wondering what it really looked
> like.
>
> I have screenshots for comparison if anyone has any photos. But a
> description would be better than nothing.
>
> Paul
> --http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/
> Latest Posthttp://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/pic-of-the-day/comet-holmes/

Paul Saunders

Dundonald wrote:

>> I was flying around in my flight sim at sunrise using real time
>> weather
>
> How's that work?


Glad you asked. The Active Sky software downloads weather data from actual
weather stations at regular intervals. These are usually located at or near
airports. The data is decoded and converted into representative weather
conditions in the flight sim. Obviously it doesn't show the actual weather
conditions, but a representative simulation.

In practice it doesn't always work very well. For instance I've had rain at
Swansea while it's been dry, or vice-versa, due to the weather data coming
from Cardiff airport instead. In the latest version there's a weather
station at Pembrey, which is is much closer to Swansea, so that's an
improvement, but still, I can look outside and see that the weather isn't
exactly the same as the sim.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/
Latest Post
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/w...y/comet-holmes/

Paul Saunders

Brian wrote:

> Don't know about futher south in the mountains but down here on
> Anglesey I didn't notice it as anything special - partly cloudy sky
> but no rain tho'.

Thanks for that.

As I said in my other post, the software doesn't always get it right. There
was rain moving in though, wasn't there? Maybe the software just got the
timing wrong?

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/
Latest Post
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/w...y/comet-holmes/

Bernard Hill

In article <qeudnYDBMpJy09banZ2dnUVZ8radnZ2d@pipex.net>, Paul Saunders
<pvs1@wildwales.fsnet.co.uk> writes
>Dundonald wrote:
>
>>> I was flying around in my flight sim at sunrise using real time
>>> weather
>>
>> How's that work?
>
>
>Glad you asked. The Active Sky software downloads weather data from actual
>weather stations at regular intervals. These are usually located at or near
>airports. The data is decoded and converted into representative weather
>conditions in the flight sim. Obviously it doesn't show the actual weather
>conditions, but a representative simulation.
>
>In practice it doesn't always work very well. For instance I've had rain at
>Swansea while it's been dry, or vice-versa, due to the weather data coming
>from Cardiff airport instead. In the latest version there's a weather
>station at Pembrey, which is is much closer to Swansea, so that's an
>improvement, but still, I can look outside and see that the weather isn't
>exactly the same as the sim.


Good grief. No chance where I live. It's 50+ miles to the nearest
station and the BBC is consistently wrong more often than right.

--
Bernard Hill
Braeburn Software
Author of Music Publisher system
Music Software written by musicians for musicians
http://www.braeburn.co.uk
Selkirk, Scotland

Phil Cook

Paul Saunders wrote:

>Dundonald wrote:
>
>>> I was flying around in my flight sim at sunrise using real time
>>> weather
>>
>> How's that work?
>
>Glad you asked. The Active Sky software downloads weather data from actual
>weather stations at regular intervals.
>
>In practice it doesn't always work very well.

I wonder if they get better results on this flight sim.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/...8683/html/1.stm

How many monitors have you got on yours Paul?
--
Phil Cook, last hill: Geal Charn above Glen Markie
http://www.p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uk/Oct07/wh11.htm

Brian

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:20:27 -0000, "Paul Saunders"
<pvs1@wildwales.fsnet.co.uk> mentioned:

>Brian wrote:
>
>> Don't know about futher south in the mountains but down here on
>> Anglesey I didn't notice it as anything special - partly cloudy sky
>> but no rain tho'.
>
>Thanks for that.
>
>As I said in my other post, the software doesn't always get it right. There
>was rain moving in though, wasn't there? Maybe the software just got the
>timing wrong?
>
>Paul
It did get grey, but I don't remember it raining here until after
dark. It probably was across the straits as it looked as if the
clouds were down to 2000' feet or so in the mountains by mid
afternoon.


Brian

Paul Saunders

Bernard Hill wrote:

> Good grief. No chance where I live. It's 50+ miles to the nearest
> station and the BBC is consistently wrong more often than right.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the Active Sky software interpolates the
weather data in between stations, but of course, that's no guarantee of
accuracy.

There's plenty of weather stations in the south to south east of Wales, and
plenty in the north west corner (RAF Valley area), but most of Wales is
sadly lacking.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/w...y/comet-holmes/

Paul Saunders

Phil Cook wrote:

> I wonder if they get better results on this flight sim.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/...8683/html/1.stm

If they're using it for testing then I imagine they'd prefer to use preset
weather patterns to test different things.

As for it costing 250 grand, most of that is probably for the hardware.
Looks like the same flat world they were using back in Flight Sim 2! But
then terrain probably isn't the purpose of the sim.

I've heard of people spending many thousands on peripheral hardware for the
flight sim. For example, you can get a 747 CDU for just £749 (a must have
for serious simmers apparently):
http://secure.simmarket.com/product...roducts_id=2126

In fact, there are so many gauges and other hardware addons you can buy...
http://secure.simmarket.com/default.php?cPath=68_120
.... that it would probably be cheaper to buy a second hand plane!

As for programming the details into the computer to test how a plane would
fly, surely you can do that with FSX? Each aircraft has a complex config
file that you put all the numbers into. But having said that, the shape of
the plane is irrelevant in FSX, you could have brilliant handling
characteristics with a plane the shape of a brick! Which is handy if you
want to design a Borg cube for instance. There are lots of sci-fi aircraft
available by the way, see this link:
http://www.simviation.com/fsxmisc3.htm

> How many monitors have you got on yours Paul?

Only one at the moment unfortunately, since my old CRT conked out. A second
monitor is high on my priority list though, mainly so that I can have Memory
Map or something running at the same time so that I can compare the terrain
with detailed maps as I fly (paper maps are too fiddly, especially when you
fly over the folds).

Ideally I'd like a 4 monitor setup (all 24" widescreens of course!), one for
the forward view, two for side views and the fourth for all the instruments,
but any more than 2 monitors is going to be a hassle. You'd need two
graphics cards to handle four monitors, and there's the processing power to
be considered. I believe the popular way of handling multi-monitor setups is
to use multiple computers linked by a piece of software to synchronise them
all.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/
Latest Post
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/w...y/comet-holmes/

Dominic Sexton

In article <i5qdnYGhgdPdz9HaRVnyigA@pipex.net>, Paul Saunders
<pvs1@wildwales.fsnet.co.uk> writes
>Ideally I'd like a 4 monitor setup (all 24" widescreens of course!), one for
>the forward view, two for side views and the fourth for all the instruments,
>but any more than 2 monitors is going to be a hassle. You'd need two
>graphics cards to handle four monitors, and there's the processing power to
>be considered. I believe the popular way of handling multi-monitor setups is
>to use multiple computers linked by a piece of software to synchronise them
>all.

I could be wrong Paul but I'm sure you recently said you were getting
out more and taking more pics ;-)

--

Dominic Sexton

Paul Saunders

Dominic Sexton wrote:

>> Ideally I'd like a 4 monitor setup (all 24" widescreens of course!),
>> one for the forward view, two for side views and the fourth for all
>> the instruments, but any more than 2 monitors is going to be a
>> hassle. You'd need two graphics cards to handle four monitors, and
>> there's the processing power to be considered. I believe the popular
>> way of handling multi-monitor setups is to use multiple computers
>> linked by a piece of software to synchronise them all.
>
> I could be wrong Paul but I'm sure you recently said you were getting
> out more and taking more pics ;-)

Yep. The key word in the above paragraph is "ideally" (if I had more money
than I knew what to do with). In practice, a second monitor is all I'm
aiming for as far as flight simming is concerned, and that's mainly so that
I can display detailed maps while I'm flying, rather than for extra viewing
options in the flight sim itself.

Studying the scenery for walk and photo planning is still my main reason for
flight simming. Since getting the higher res scenery I've identified more
potentially good viewpoints in Snowdonia. I just need to invest some money
in petrol to get up there and take some real photos instead of screenshots.
Not the best time of year for good weather though...

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/w...y/comet-holmes/

Bill Grey

In message <PKCdnU95KcpvdNHanZ2dnUVZ8s-qnZ2d@pipex.net>, Paul Saunders
<pvs1@wildwales.fsnet.co.uk> writes
>Dominic Sexton wrote:
>
>>> Ideally I'd like a 4 monitor setup (all 24" widescreens of course!),
>>> one for the forward view, two for side views and the fourth for all
>>> the instruments, but any more than 2 monitors is going to be a
>>> hassle. You'd need two graphics cards to handle four monitors, and
>>> there's the processing power to be considered. I believe the popular
>>> way of handling multi-monitor setups is to use multiple computers
>>> linked by a piece of software to synchronise them all.
>>
>> I could be wrong Paul but I'm sure you recently said you were getting
>> out more and taking more pics ;-)
>
>Yep. The key word in the above paragraph is "ideally" (if I had more money
>than I knew what to do with). In practice, a second monitor is all I'm
>aiming for as far as flight simming is concerned, and that's mainly so that
>I can display detailed maps while I'm flying, rather than for extra viewing
>options in the flight sim itself.
>
>Studying the scenery for walk and photo planning is still my main reason for
>flight simming. Since getting the higher res scenery I've identified more
>potentially good viewpoints in Snowdonia. I just need to invest some money
>in petrol to get up there and take some real photos instead of screenshots.
>Not the best time of year for good weather though...
>
>Paul

:-)
--
Bill Grey