Soaring & Thermals

[T Square]

Going to try some Gliders, where do you put "Thermals" in your scenery files ? Are they OK lumped together in one file or should they be kept separate ?

[Daube]

I don't know a thing about the "scenery"-fixed thermals, but I imagine you can put them all in the same folder, on top of the local areas sceneries.

However, FSX can generate its own thermals, depending where you are, so the easiest solution would be to turn on the thermal visualization option in the sim settings, and choose the "schematic" choice. This will show the thermals by drawing big 3D green spirals. The "natural" option will show eagles soaring in the thermals, much more realistic but also much harder to spot.

Also, some specific programs can be used to create ridge lift:
- CumulusX, freeware
- Active Sky (next or AS16), payware.

I used CumulusX for several years, then switched to ActiveSkyNext.

[xpelekis]

About ActiveSkyNext I don't have it and I don't know, but if you are into FSX Soaring
then CumulusX is a must have... It follows well established and known principles of
ridge dynaming soaring and thermal generation due to direction/speed of the wind (in FSX)
and sun position relative to slopes to calculate and create slope lift and thermals.
Quite close to the real thing and it's customizable.

I flew with CumulusX in FSX at a well known to me flying site and here is a head to head comparison :



This is a free photoscenery with some scenery additions of my own. Overall, quite close to the real
thing and certainly depicts the feeling of how soaring in RL is... Compared to the native FSX thermalling simulation,
CumulusX is miles ahead... As real as it gets or what...

[joe bob]

I second CumulusX. Quite the program, totally devoted to soaring.