Floyd’s Epic Weather Guide

These weather presets are contained within the Floyds Epic Clouds package and provide weather for specific types of aircraft. Each preset will start with the id ‘few’ so that they stay together at the foot of the Epic Clouds presets list. Here are the explanations for how to use each of them.

Note: This article is currently being edited. When the article is fully realised this notice will be removed.

Hot Air Balloons

The hot air balloon presets for the Hype Performance Group Hot Air Balloon will allow you to choose your direction of travel by adjusting your altitude. Both presets begin by pointing North and at particular altitude will sweep clockwise or anticlockwise until pointing South. The tablet in the cockpit will allow you to set the current altitude in its automatic pilot, and you can use this to set the direction of travel.

Note 1: There is an Asobo bug in the wind direction between 0 and 359 degrees and the hot air balloon presets have been created in such a way as to avoid that problem.

Note 2: The Ladybird balloon design can be found on flightsim.to here.

Gusting Winds

Gusting winds make flights a little more challenging. Helicopter pilots report that cross-winds are more problematic than wind speed during landing and there are two strengths to choose from.

Glider Ridge Lift

The ridge lift winds have been brought over from the Alpine Odyssey project with some adjustment to the clouds. You can have winds blowing from the cardinal compass points and use this knowledge to orientate your glider on a moving map in the event you do not have a wind direction instrument.

Glider Thermals

Overview

The two thermal presets have been tuned for the AS-33ME with full water ballast at mid summer and mid day in the area of KGZL (Stigler Regional Airport). If you find the thermals too strong for your glider or preferences, you can optimise them by choosing a different month or time of day.

Instructions for New Glider Pilots

I recommend the AS-33ME since it is has excellent and intuitive instruments onboard that will help you track thermals and wind direction.

Please follow these instructions in order to get a reasonable flight:

  • Preferably select the AS 33ME glider for your first flight, and leave it with full water ballast. If you are using a lighter aircraft, you can decrease the strength of the thermals as described in the overview.
  • Select the tow plane as your means of reaching altitude.
  • Select airport KGZL (Stigler Regional Airport) in central USA; the terrain is flat, making it perfect for concentrating on thermal lift. It is at 599 feet (183 m) above mean sea level so the air is more dense than some other airports in the hills and mountains.
  • Load the flight and the flaps lever will be set to A for Aerotow (if you are using the AS-33ME).
  • Set the month of the year to June (the summer month in the flight location) since this preset is tuned for the middle of summer.
  • Set the time of day to noon since this preset is tuned to the maximum thermal energy at that time.
  • For extra help on your first flight, switch on the wind visualisation at the bottom left of the presets dialogue box.
  • Move your rudder left and right twice to indicate to the tow plane pilot you are ready to go.
  • When you lift off, retract the wheel.
  • During the tow, keep the tow plane visible and in position just above the cockpit rim, following it gently as it turns.
  • Release the tow rope when the tow plane moves its wings up and down several times.
  • Move the flaps lever to T2 for maximum thermal lift (if you are using the AS-33ME) potentially adding in a small amount of pitch up to reduce the effort on the stick.
  • Head for the nearest big cloud, this is where the thermals are most intense.
  • Follow the wind direction into the centre of the cloud. In theory, the strongest thermals will have made the cloud and pushed it downstream. You will want to be on the upstream edge of the cloud shadow so you can make good use of the increasing lift while you seek the centre of the thermal.
  • Begin circling when you meet a thermal as indicated by your instruments and variometer. If you do not immediately find a thermal, you should perform a search pattern and double back wherever you find reasonable lift.
  • Gain a few thousand feet so you can make a long distance run to a new location.
  • When you begin your flight to a new location switch the flaps to -1 (if you are using the AS-33ME). Adjust the pitch to achieve a smooth, straight flight without the slow undulating motion.
  • Follow the Arkansas River to the East for some scenic sights. Seek some extra lift at 3000 feet to avoid being trapped in less energetic air at lower altitudes.
  • Before landing, empty the ballast tanks using the switches on the right of the cockpit (if you are using the AS-33ME).
  • When starting the landing sequence set the flaps to L for maximum drag (if you are using the AS-33ME), drop the wheel when you are close to the airfield and use the spoilers or side-slip as necessary to achieve the correct glide slope for the runway.

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