Weather Settings

Contents

In addition to the weather choices that you can make using the Weather screens, you can also set options on the Weather Settings tab.

You can:

Visual Weather Settings

Cloud draw distance

Displaying clouds uses a lot of graphics processing power. Drawing clouds at great distances may affect computer performance. You can change the distance at which clouds display to a shorter distance to free up computer resources for other tasks.

To change the distance at which clouds draw

  1. On the Options menu, point to Settings, then click Display.
  2. Click the Weather tab.
  3. Move the Cloud draw distance slider left or right to decrease or increase the distance.
  4. Click OK.

Thermal visualization (for soaring)

Thermals are rising columns of warm air caused by the sun's uneven heating of the Earth's surface. Glider pilots use thermals to gain altitude, in the same way that birds do. Thermals can be difficult to find but there are two kinds of visual aids to find thermals.

Natural thermal indicators are birds circling within the thermal. A Schematic thermal indicator is an artificial graphic that is drawn within the thermal.

To make thermals visible

  1. On the Options menu, point to Settings, then click Display.
  2. Click the Weather tab.
  3. Select Natural or Schematic from the Thermal visualization list.
  4. Click OK.

Cloud detail

As with most graphic settings, the greater the detail, the more computer resources are required to display it. Settings are available for simple and detailed clouds. Experiment with each to see how your computer performs.

To change cloud detail

  1. On the Options menu, point to Settings, then click Display.
  2. Click the Weather tab.
  3. Move the Cloud coverage density slider right or left to increase or decrease density.
  4. Click OK.

Dynamic Weather Settings

Disable turbulence and thermal effects

When flying over areas heated by the sun, the atmosphere contains thermals of rising air. You can disable the effect turbulence and thermals have on your aircraft to make your flight smoother.

To disable the turbulence and thermal effects

  1. On the Options menu, point to Settings, then click Display.
  2. Click the Weather tab.
  3. Select the Disable turbulence and thermal effects on aircraft check box.
  4. Click OK.

Dynamic weather rate

When the weather rate slider is set to No change, weather remains as you set it in the User-defined weather dialog box. When this option is set to Low, Medium, High, or Very High, weather conditions change dynamically depending on the atmospheric conditions set in the Weather dialog box. For example, at the Low setting, it might take a couple of hours to see much change in the weather. At the Very High setting, you're likely to see changes in 15 to 20 minutes.

Dynamic weather applies to all three weather types: Weather themes, Real-world weather, and User-defined weather. Clouds, winds, and precipitation form and dissipate over time depending on the conditions chosen.

To change the rate at which weather changes

  1. On the Options menu, point to Settings, then click Display.
  2. Click the Weather tab.
  3. Move the Rate at which weather changes over time slider to the desired setting.
  4. Click OK.

Resetting Default Values

You can easily return to the default settings at any time.

To reset the weather settings

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