XC Skies Releases Beta Version of Global Soaring Forecast Maps
by
Chris Galli
—
last modified
2007-10-12 11:50
XC Skies is bridging the gap in an unprecedented effort to reliably provide soaring forecasts for most locations on planet Earth.
Example Image: Top of the Usable lift over Colorado with wind barbs at that level in MPH, October 12, 2007 at 3PM local from GFS model input.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Salt Lake City, Utah -- October 12, 2007 – Soaring forecasts provide crucial information about when and where to fly. A consistent resource for providing soaring forecasts for any and all locations has simply not been available to the foot-launch aviation community. There are literally thousands of locations on the Internet that provide fragmented elements of soaring forecasts, and many of those resources are only intermittently available. XC Skies is bridging the gap in an unprecedented effort to reliably provide soaring forecasts for most locations on planet Earth.
XC Skies’ first soaring forecast tool called XC Maps is now available for anyone to use over the Internet with any popular web browser. This application provides essential soaring parameters that characterize thermal, wind, and surface conditions. Each parameter is forecasted at three hourly intervals for the next upcoming three days. The XC Maps forecasts are presented as visual layers within the freely available Google Maps. This provides a highly useful navigation environment to explore soaring predictions. Pilots will find it convenient to search, zoom, and browse potential soaring regions with additional map features such as satellite, boundary, and city and road overlays.
XC Skies provides pilots additional resources for analyzing soaring potential. Pilots combining other local soaring forecasts with XC Skies benefit by gaining an even more complete understanding of useful soaring parameters for their particular region of interest. Rarely does a single forecast provide all of the necessary information to exploit a day’s potential. With more information available, pilots can make better-informed decisions on when and where to fly, if at all.
Extensive validation efforts took place during the summer of 2007 in North America. Many pilots contributed valuable feedback comparing their experiences in the air with XC Maps forecasts. XC Skies is excited to release the improved product to the entire global foot launch flight community. We anticipate even more crucial feedback in the coming months so that the can continue to evolve. Additional analysis tools and plots are being developed, and will continue to be released with the support of the community.
XC Skies is an organization created by pilots dedicated to providing useful forecast tools to the soaring aviation communities across the world. The founding members are Chris Galli, Jay Mace, and Sally Benson. With over 20 years of flying and decades of combined atmospheric science and meteorology experience, the XC Skies team is committed to providing the most valid soaring forecasts possible given the current global forecast models available today.
For more information visit: http://www.xcskies.com or
Contact: info@xcskies.com
Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/xcskies
Salt Lake City, Utah -- October 12, 2007 – Soaring forecasts provide crucial information about when and where to fly. A consistent resource for providing soaring forecasts for any and all locations has simply not been available to the foot-launch aviation community. There are literally thousands of locations on the Internet that provide fragmented elements of soaring forecasts, and many of those resources are only intermittently available. XC Skies is bridging the gap in an unprecedented effort to reliably provide soaring forecasts for most locations on planet Earth.
XC Skies’ first soaring forecast tool called XC Maps is now available for anyone to use over the Internet with any popular web browser. This application provides essential soaring parameters that characterize thermal, wind, and surface conditions. Each parameter is forecasted at three hourly intervals for the next upcoming three days. The XC Maps forecasts are presented as visual layers within the freely available Google Maps. This provides a highly useful navigation environment to explore soaring predictions. Pilots will find it convenient to search, zoom, and browse potential soaring regions with additional map features such as satellite, boundary, and city and road overlays.
XC Skies provides pilots additional resources for analyzing soaring potential. Pilots combining other local soaring forecasts with XC Skies benefit by gaining an even more complete understanding of useful soaring parameters for their particular region of interest. Rarely does a single forecast provide all of the necessary information to exploit a day’s potential. With more information available, pilots can make better-informed decisions on when and where to fly, if at all.
Extensive validation efforts took place during the summer of 2007 in North America. Many pilots contributed valuable feedback comparing their experiences in the air with XC Maps forecasts. XC Skies is excited to release the improved product to the entire global foot launch flight community. We anticipate even more crucial feedback in the coming months so that the can continue to evolve. Additional analysis tools and plots are being developed, and will continue to be released with the support of the community.
XC Skies is an organization created by pilots dedicated to providing useful forecast tools to the soaring aviation communities across the world. The founding members are Chris Galli, Jay Mace, and Sally Benson. With over 20 years of flying and decades of combined atmospheric science and meteorology experience, the XC Skies team is committed to providing the most valid soaring forecasts possible given the current global forecast models available today.
For more information visit: http://www.xcskies.com or
Contact: info@xcskies.com
Discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/xcskies
