Zugegeben: PFPX hat bereits einige Jahre auf dem Buckel. Dennoch gibt es meiner Meinung nach noch immer kein besseres Werkzeug auf dem Flugsimulatormarkt, welches eine individuelle Routenplanung auf der Langstrecke erlaubt. Die ermittelte Route lässt sich dann natürlich - zeitgemäß - in Simbrief überführen.
Leider fehlt seit einiger Zeit die Option, aktuelle Wetter- und Forecastdaten kostenpflichtig zu abonnieren, womit das Tool für mich seither unbenutzbar ist.
Das kostenlose Programm wx2pfpx von aloys-c, erhältlich auf Github, bietet hier endlich Abhilfe, indem es aktuelle Wetterquellen von NOAA GFS (Global Forecast System) und NOAA AWC (Aviation Weather Center) für etwa 5000 Airports anzapft und in einen "fake" Active Sky Export überführt. Dieser lässt sich dann problemlos in PFPX integrieren, sodass darauf basierend dann windoptimierte Routings errechnet werden können.
Direktlink zum Download: https://github.com/aloys-c/wx2pfp…pfpx-v2.6.3.zip
How to install :
The folder can be placed anywhere on the computer, a shortcut to the "wx2pfpx.exe" file can be created and put on the Desktop for quick access. The output files are generated and stored in the folder named "output". This folder has to be selected in the PFPX as the "Active Sky" folder (settings on lower bar of screen), the data displayed in PFPX is then automatically refreshed each time the data is updated.
How to use :
PLEASE NOTE : the program freezes sometimes during processing, this is not an issue, just be patient, the download can sometimes take a few minutes or be rejected by the data provider.
Open the script by double clicking on wx2pfpx.exe or the created shortcut on the Desktop.
The script keeps track of last downloaded data and they can be directly browsed, if available, by using the cursor on the to left through the different forecast times, thiw will change the displayed data in PFPX.
To download new data, you have the following options :
- select a starting time (up to 24 hours in the future).
- The number of forecasts you want to fetch (steps of 3 hours from the given starting time).
- Using either an optimized sample of the grid (default stations and airports network) or importing the full grid.
Clicking on the download button will generate a new dataset that will be saved on the Hard Drive and replace the previous one.
When available for an airport, the METAR and TAF data is also displayed.
Keep in mind that the weather data source is a free, but limited service. It is designed to prevent abuse and making a lot of requests will increase downloading time or make it fail.
How it works :
The script fetches raw weather data, data from the NOAA GFS (Global Forecast System), US national weather service, which is then compiled to a single file that can be imported in PFPX. The data source is updated 4 times a day, and provides forecasts for every 3 following hours up to 16 days. The METAR and TAF data is imported from the NOAA AWC (Aviation Weather Center) for about 5000 main airports.
The default stations network consists of about 15000 reference airports as well as more than 500 additional stations located in remote areas (See default network image file). Wind/temperature data is provided for each of them by using a weighted interpolation of the NOAA grid data (resolution of at least 1°/~111km, 65160 points, but can be changed in the settings up to 0.25°/28km, 1042560 points.). Imported data is then extrapolated in a grid by PFPX. This method allows to process the data quickly and in an optimized way, covering mostly the whole map and fits well for flying on continents.
For more precision, it is also possible to generate an output file containing the whole NOAA grid dataset by checking the "Use full grid" option. This takes more time to process and load into PFPX (especially for higher grid resolutions), but will cover precisely and homogeneously the whole map. That method could fit better for long haul flights over remote areas.
Please note that the data is provided only up to FL400, higher altitudes will have lower precision, and data can be assumed invalid from FL420-FL450 up.
Main differences with official server :
- Only one single forecast can be displayed and used to compute the whole flight performance.
- When the METAR data is unavailable for an airport, usually the data from the nearest airport is automatically displayed. Here the data is simply not provided.
- The general quality/compatibility, please pay for the official subscription if you can afford it, it will give you what's best and allows to reward the team for their work.
Advanced settings :
You can edit the file "settings.cfg" as a normal text file. It allows to set the resolutions of the grid used for data interpolation on stations (1°/111km, 0.5°/55km, or 0.25°/28km), and also the grid imported when using full grid mode (see documentation folder for exemples of grid effect on precision). Increasing resolution can make processing and loading times much higher, 0.25° resolution is not available for full grid mode as data amount is too high for PFPX.
Other settings are available as well like allowing to export the whole data in JSON format, setting the default forecast time used when starting time is left blank or keeping a number of previous forecasts.
Troubleshooting :
- If you don't get result files in the "output" folder after the download and can't restart the app, this is very probably due to the antivirus software preventing the script from writing files. Try to whitelist and empty the "output" folder before trying again.
- Using a higher resolution can make the script lag depending on your computer, try setting the values at 1 and see if it solves the issue.
