Flightgear weather

[James Vahn]

I've seen the weather reports posted in Used_Kharma and thought this info
might be interesting. FlightGear (http://flightgear.org) flight simulator
(linux & windows).

The fun is in this command:

~$ fgfs --prop:/environment/params/real-world-weather-fetch=true

It connects to NOAA and sets the simulated skies according to the local
weather! If you choose "--airport=KGEG" it'll set the scene to the Spokane
International Airport.

On a Debian box, "apt-get install flightgear" is all you need to install it.
I would expect Mandrake and Windows to be a bit more difficult but if you're
interested in flight simulators, this one is pretty nice and worth the
effort (fair amount of CPU and video hardware required).

Aircraft from the KittyHawk to a UFO. Helicopters and jets. I like the
C310-civilian, it's easy to fly and the autopilot is good too. The default
airport (San Fransisco KSFO) has bridges to fly under and buildings to buzz.
There's even an aircraft carrier for takeoffs and landings. Turn the sound
up a bit. Find the weather channel on the radio.

You'll need DRI ; "xdpyinfo | grep DRI" must return "XFree86-DRI"
on that X11/Linux box.

Package: flightgear
Version: 0.9.4-1
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.3.2.ds1-4), libgcc1 (>= 1:3.3.3-1), libglut3, libice6 |
xlibs (>> 4.1.0), libsm6 | xlibs (>> 4.1.0), libstdc++5 (>=
1:3.3.3-1), libx11-6 | xlibs (>> 4.1.0), libxext6 | xlibs (>>
4.1.0), libxi6 | xlibs (>>4.1.0), libxmu6 | xlibs (>> 4.1.0),
libxt6 | xlibs (>> 4.1.0), plib1.8.3, simgear0 (>= 0.3.5-1),
xlibmesa-glu | libglu1, xlibmesa3-gl | libgl1, zlib1g (>= 1:1.2.1),
fgfs-base (>= 0.9.4)


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[James Vahn]

Incidentally, the command "metar kgeg" returned this about today's
flight conditions in Spokane:


INPUT: 2004/08/18 13:10
KGEG 181310Z 15007KT 10SM FEW120 SCT140 BKN200 18/12 A3006 RMK AO2
METAR Report
============
Airport-Id: KGEG
Report time: 2004/8/18 13:10 UTC
Visibility: 16.1 km 10 US-miles
Wind: from the SSE (150°) at 13 km/h 7 kt = 8.1 mph = 3.6 m/s
Temperature: 18°C 64.4°F
Dewpoint: 12°C 53.6°F
Rel. Humidity: 68%
Pressure: 1018 hPa 30.06 in. Hg
Sky condition: few clouds at 12000 ft 3660 m
scattered clouds at 14000 ft 4270 m
broken clouds at 20000 ft 6100 m



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[James Vahn]

Post by James Vahn
You'll need DRI ; "xdpyinfo | grep DRI" must return "XFree86-DRI"
on that X11/Linux box.

I think my DRI in XFree86 may be somewhat broken, as it generates at least
one or two errors each time I use DRI directly.

Flightgear is horrible without it, I only get 1 FPS and cannot fly a plane
by moving the stick once per second... There's always Sabre though. It's
a WWII dogfight, runs on SVGA or X11.


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