View Full Version : Re: XCSkies version 3 - announced by Chris Galli - coming in ten days... ?
Bret Hess
April 1st 17, 06:30 AM
Chris doesn't even answer emails from people trying to buy a subcription to xcskies.
Sean Fidler
April 1st 17, 01:05 PM
Skylight.io <----------
;-)
On Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 5:05:46 AM UTC-7, Sean Fidler wrote:
> Skylight.io <----------
>
> ;-)
Slight correction...
SkySight.io.
Matthew seems to operate at the other end of the customer service spectrum from what many of us have seen in the last ~4 years of XC Skies.
More than just another World Champion.
Jim
Mike the Strike
April 2nd 17, 06:16 AM
> SkySight.io.
>
> Matthew seems to operate at the other end of the customer service spectrum from what many of us have seen in the last ~4 years of XC Skies.
> More than just another World Champion.
> Jim
Worse than that - some of the XC Skies web site hasn't been updated since 2009 and Chris has almost completely ignored his paying customers, failing to answer e-mails or technical questions for more than 4 years.
He may produce an improved product - he clearly knows what he's doing there - but in my experience customer service is determined by the owner of a company and doesn't usually change. I am afraid we will get a wonderful new XC Skies product and then Chris will disappear for another 8 years and we'll be on our own again!
I do weather forecasts for my club and occasionally for contests. Folks ask me for my opinion. I am advising everyone I know to support Matt and sign up for SkySight and, if they can only afford one subscription, to drop XC Skies.
Sorry Chris, but that's what happens when you take customers money and then ignore them when they need help with your product.
Mike
Sean Fidler
April 2nd 17, 12:17 PM
Sorry for the spell check typo.
--- SKYSIGHT.io ---
Matthew Scutter (skysight.io developer) is a highly driven (already extremely accomplished in soaring competition) ex Google developer (now fully focused on his new venture) who is truly determined to make commercial ($10 per month) soaring weather forecasting better.
I have used XC skies myself (still do) and found it to be fine. But Skysight just seems to be considerably more accurate than any current option. It is far higher resolution. Also, most important for me, the mobile accessibility of the Skysight.io content is outstanding, and for me, mobile is how I prefer to view weather content. Dr. Jack and XC Skies absolutely stink on mobile devices. Mathew understands mobile user interface. That said, his normal web browser user interface is also superior as well in terms of the timeline scroll bar, etc.
And he is just getting started.... We should all consider support him. His work can help us all enjoy soaring a little more with better, more convenient, more accessible soaring weather forecasting.
My 2 cents...
Sean
krasw
April 2nd 17, 12:29 PM
So is Skysight.io just another new visualization of old RASP code, or is there actual science involved?
On Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 4:29:50 AM UTC-7, krasw wrote:
> So is Skysight.io just another new visualization of old RASP code, or is there actual science involved?
Link to an earlier thread:
SkySight forecast available for SW USA
Jim
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.aviation.soaring/skysight$20forecast$20available%7Csort:relevance/rec.aviation.soaring/oIyRwoK-QG8/VwrxsF28BAAJ
krasw
April 2nd 17, 07:05 PM
On Sunday, 2 April 2017 18:10:09 UTC+3, JS wrote:
> On Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 4:29:50 AM UTC-7, krasw wrote:
> > So is Skysight.io just another new visualization of old RASP code, or is there actual science involved?
>
> Link to an earlier thread:
> SkySight forecast available for SW USA
> Jim
>
It says nothing about the data, model etc.
On Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 11:05:05 AM UTC-7, krasw wrote:
> On Sunday, 2 April 2017 18:10:09 UTC+3, JS wrote:
> > On Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 4:29:50 AM UTC-7, krasw wrote:
> > > So is Skysight.io just another new visualization of old RASP code, or is there actual science involved?
> >
> > Link to an earlier thread:
> > SkySight forecast available for SW USA
> > Jim
> >
>
> It says nothing about the data, model etc.
Sorry, Krasw.
Thought Walt had posted in that thread that SkySight uses the WRF model which seems to forecast as accurately as HRRR, but gives longer range forecasts than HRRR.
Just reread WX's posts and didn't find that.
Jim
Eric Greenwell[_4_]
April 3rd 17, 03:29 AM
krasw wrote on 4/2/2017 11:05 AM:
> On Sunday, 2 April 2017 18:10:09 UTC+3, JS wrote:
>> On Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 4:29:50 AM UTC-7, krasw wrote:
>>> So is Skysight.io just another new visualization of old RASP code, or is there actual science involved?
>>
>> Link to an earlier thread:
>> SkySight forecast available for SW USA
>> Jim
>>
>
> It says nothing about the data, model etc.
You can try it for free for 7 days, and if that's not enough, buy 1 month at $10.
By the end of the month, you should have a good idea of it's value to you. I did
the 7 days, now I'm doing a month.
--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/Guide-to-transponders-in-sailplanes-2014A.pdf
Bret Hess
April 3rd 17, 06:20 AM
It will be interesting to see if the Xcskies price goes up. If it's still half the price of skysight, it might survive providing the world's worst customer service.
krasw
April 3rd 17, 07:28 AM
On Monday, 3 April 2017 00:23:04 UTC+3, JS wrote:
>
> Sorry, Krasw.
> Thought Walt had posted in that thread that SkySight uses the WRF model which seems to forecast as accurately as HRRR, but gives longer range forecasts than HRRR.
> Just reread WX's posts and didn't find that.
> Jim
So it's basically RASP. WRF is far from state of the art.
Mike C
April 3rd 17, 03:27 PM
On Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 11:20:10 PM UTC-6, Bret Hess wrote:
> It will be interesting to see if the Xcskies price goes up. If it's still half the price of skysight, it might survive providing the world's worst customer service.
Checked SkySight twice during my free evaluation period. During both days XCSkies had a more accurate forecast while I was flying at Moriarty. Have never had a problem with XCSkies.
Mike
kirk.stant
April 3rd 17, 03:43 PM
I've been using XCSkies since it first came out and have never had a problem with it - works just fine on my PC or my iPhone, all over the US.
A vast improvement over DrJack - my previous glider WX go-to.
If it ain't broke, it don't need fixin'
Kirk
66
Dan Marotta
April 3rd 17, 04:49 PM
What customer service do you need? My experience has been that it works
and my renewals over 6 years have worked. What else is there? If you
can't figure out how to use it, ask a friend.
On 4/2/2017 11:20 PM, Bret Hess wrote:
> It will be interesting to see if the Xcskies price goes up. If it's still half the price of skysight, it might survive providing the world's worst customer service.
--
Dan, 5J
On Monday, April 3, 2017 at 8:49:18 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
> What customer service do you need? My experience has been that it works
> and my renewals over 6 years have worked. What else is there? If you
> can't figure out how to use it, ask a friend.
>
> On 4/2/2017 11:20 PM, Bret Hess wrote:
> > It will be interesting to see if the Xcskies price goes up. If it's still half the price of skysight, it might survive providing the world's worst customer service.
>
> --
> Dan, 5J
Your mileage may vary?
For the most part I like XC Skies. It might be working where you fly. It works where I live too.
Personally had no problem resubscribing, but that doesn't deny other people's problems, including payment made and product not delivered.
Why do some XC Skies forecasts have enormous lines of weather that are different to the adjoining area? An example:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/87cli6uwgt0qz9n/2016-01-01%201400%20Lake%20Keepit%20GFS.jpg?dl=0
I've seen these vertical and horizontal lines in Northeastern USA and in New South Wales.
The NSW forecast was bad (as in the image) for at least two years with no response from the owner of the paid product. All requests sent to three different e-mail addresses from multiple e-mail accounts over a long period of time were ignored.
I evidently don't know how to use it, so I'll ask:
Where is the Convergence forecast on XC Skies?
Jim
Mike C
April 3rd 17, 05:57 PM
On Monday, April 3, 2017 at 10:43:10 AM UTC-6, JS wrote:
> On Monday, April 3, 2017 at 8:49:18 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
> > What customer service do you need? My experience has been that it works
> > and my renewals over 6 years have worked. What else is there? If you
> > can't figure out how to use it, ask a friend.
> >
> > On 4/2/2017 11:20 PM, Bret Hess wrote:
> > > It will be interesting to see if the Xcskies price goes up. If it's still half the price of skysight, it might survive providing the world's worst customer service.
> >
> > --
> > Dan, 5J
>
> Your mileage may vary?
> For the most part I like XC Skies. It might be working where you fly. It works where I live too.
> Personally had no problem resubscribing, but that doesn't deny other people's problems, including payment made and product not delivered.
> Why do some XC Skies forecasts have enormous lines of weather that are different to the adjoining area? An example:
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/87cli6uwgt0qz9n/2016-01-01%201400%20Lake%20Keepit%20GFS.jpg?dl=0
> I've seen these vertical and horizontal lines in Northeastern USA and in New South Wales.
> The NSW forecast was bad (as in the image) for at least two years with no response from the owner of the paid product. All requests sent to three different e-mail addresses from multiple e-mail accounts over a long period of time were ignored.
> I evidently don't know how to use it, so I'll ask:
> Where is the Convergence forecast on XC Skies?
> Jim
Where I live in New Mexico, USA, convergence lines are easy to see on XCSkies, and they are usually accurate especially with the NAM forecasts. When I click on the "Cloud Base" tab, the convergence if there is to be one shows up very vividly. Maybe in the high desert or NM with such remarkable soaring conditions it may be easier to forecast and see, not sure.
Mike
Dan Marotta
April 4th 17, 02:27 AM
> Why do some XC Skies forecasts have enormous lines of weather that are different to the adjoining area? An example:
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/87cli6uwgt0qz9n/2016-01-01%201400%20Lake%20Keepit%20GFS.jpg?dl=0
> I've seen these vertical and horizontal lines in Northeastern USA and in New South Wales.
> The NSW forecast was bad (as in the image) for at least two years with no response from the owner of the paid product. All requests sent to three different e-mail addresses from multiple e-mail accounts over a long period of time were ignored.
> I evidently don't know how to use it, so I'll ask:
> Where is the Convergence forecast on XC Skies?
> Jim
Global warming? :-D
Yeah, I know I'm a couple of days late, but I couldn't resist...
--
Dan, 5J
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