Winds Aloft?

[monkeyboy]

A question regarding using the internet as a resource for flight planning:

At my flying school, we are encouraged to ring the tower before planning any X country flight and asking for the winds aloft. The tower then reads back said speeds and temps for given altitudes and we then use these to plan.

I have heard that such figures are available on the internet but other than using the Met Office Form 214 charts - where you have to interpolate wind speeds - I cannot find such a service that gives you the same info that ATC give us when we ring the tower.

Does anybody know of such a website?

When ATC give me winds aloft are they simply using data that they too have had to interpolate?

MB

[Polar_stereographic]

Sure, Go to
http://www.met-office.gov.uk/

Sign up and it's all there, gratis too for a change, no premium rate phone me back fax no's, all free now. Interesting to see how this came about too.

PS

[monkeyboy]

Thanks PS but unless I'm not looking hard enough the Met Office website still requires you to interpolate the speeds (F214). If this is all ATC are doing when I ring them then fine I can live with that. I just can't see ATC going to the met office website like everybody else, interpolating the figures from F214, and then giving the info to people like me.

[stolport]

go to the Met Office Website and click on Airmets.

See Airmets (http://www.met-office.gov.uk/aviation/airmets.html)

[Polar_stereographic]

Monkeyboy,

Consider the interpolation (?) good practice for when you sit the Met practical. I'm assuming the JAR ATPL's are not disimilar to the National ones, as for that you had to interpolate a whole route's worth and work out the average wind speed and direction. IIRC, I had to do London to Jo'burg.

PS


Edited for useless spelling - why can't I spell?

[ 26 October 2001: Message edited by: Polar_stereographic ]

[monkeyboy]

Stolport, thank you very much! That looks like what I'm after.

PS, I know I should get into the practice of inter-whatyacallingit. I'll try not to be too lazy in future!

Thanks

MB :)

[whoop-whoop]

Try this one it's free to register:
web page (http://www.wxsupport.com)

Even when you have to interpolate from wind charts, the information given in the forecast is best guess only.

This is often highlighted when the IRS wind readout that we have dislayed on EFIS can vary considerably from forecast winds aloft.

I always find it easier to just use the information as a guide. i.e approx direction/strong/light etc.

After all when I'm flying light aircraft I feel pretty chuffed with myself if I can fly a heading +/-5deg. Which in itself is probably a bigger error than the approx wind information that you were using to plan with.

It is not an exact science, and the winds aloft that ATC pass you may well be very different from a short distance away.

Hope this helps.
nullwww.wxsupport.com (http://wxsupport.com)

[ 26 October 2001: Message edited by: whoop-whoop ]