XC Skies usefulness?

On 1/13/2011 4:33 AM, Mike the Strike wrote:
On Jan 13, 7:58 am, Grider wrote:
On Jan 12, 7:59 pm, Eric wrote:


Where do you fly? I've had better experiences with Blipmaps in the
Washington, Oregon, Idaho region than XC Skies.



I fly from Jean, NV. Like others, I found XCSkies darn good in 2009,
less so in 2010. OTOH,, I think 2010 was just 'less so' in general!
2011 will be better!
UF

Blipmaps and XC Skies use the same basic data and produce soaring
forecasts only as good as this underlying data.

Oddly, the RUC blipmap works best for me; the closest XCS forecasts came
from their NAM model. So, same underlying data, but the processing is
different.

XC Skies gives you
three choices of models and some experience will tell you which are
most useful for your area.

Unfortunately, the intriguing features like the routes, etc, all use the
GFS model (no other selection was/is available), which is usually too
"enthusiastic" in the WA-OR-ID area I fly while at home.

It also is much more user-friendly and has
good support from the developers. I also do a sanity check by looking
at forecast soundings using the latest experimental models. The
latest Rapid Refresh models are showing great promise and will soon
take over from the present RUC. (Perhaps someone more directly
involved could comment?)

In any event, XC Skies has the best and most flexible display.

I initially also thought so, but after a couple of years, including the
start of 2010 season, I decided the Blipmap interface is just as useful,
and I could actually flip between the different displays faster than on
XCS. Higher speed access might change that, but I found the extra detail
in the topography was useless, because the detail in the forecasts is
still limited by the 13 to 20 km grid size used to produce them.

I wish them well, I think XCS has a lot of promise, I ocasionally pester
them to add features (I'd love to see a wave forecast), and I will
continue to check their forecasts with the Blipmaps. You can do this
easily in the evening, which I do after a flight.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

yea i really wish the route function would work with the RUC or NAM
forecasts too. otherwise I like the overlays and the way that XCS
works.