Question Regarding Visibility - Feel Really Stupid!

[Harpya]

Hi,

I am new to the forum, pretty new to the Microsoft world of FS and even newer to FSUIPC which I recently bought (originally to use the great Airbus Panels by Eric Marciano)

I used the search function and I thoroughly read the documentation. Maybe its my English, but I just don't get it so...

Here is the question:

I am flying at FL 320 over France, using real weather. When I turn on "Apply vis limits", using the default (10 Miles rain/cloudy) values the visibilty often drops down to basically nothing (ugly grey mist). Even when I increase that value to, say, 20 miles, it remains dense. Now, when I add the upper altitude feature and use the default 6000 feet - shouldn't this make the visibility clear when I am that high?

What am I missing here?

PS: The grey mist only goes away when I use visibility "limits" ridiculously high (like 100 miles) - Of course this grey mist only comes occasionally, probably when the wheather info tells the engine "it's raining" but: I don't see any raindrops and I also do not have any clouds around me at FL 320.

In short:

1. Why do I have at times such a thick ugly grey layer around me in all directions, even that high?

2. What do I have to do to get a maximum ceiling above which I get a clear sky?

Thanks for your patience!

Regards,

Chris

_______________________

FS 2004, Pentium 4C 2,8 Ghz, Asus P4P800, 1GB DDR-400 RAM, Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 Pro.

[Pete Dowson]

I am flying at FL 320 over France, using real weather. When I turn on "Apply vis limits", using the default (10 Miles rain/cloudy) values the visibilty often drops down to basically nothing (ugly grey mist). Even when I increase that value to, say, 20 miles, it remains dense. Now, when I add the upper altitude feature and use the default 6000 feet - shouldn't this make the visibility clear when I am that high?

Maybe I'm not understanding you, but the only thing which would do that is if the top of the visibility layer, set in FS, is very high. The visibility limits applied by FSUIPC are for that layer, no matter how thick or thin it is. Usually the visibility later finishes a few thousand feet above the ground. Above this, if left to its own devices, FS provides "unlimited visibility" always (though there will be a drawing limit set in the Options).

Go to the weather menus in FS, find the visibility, and see what you have set for the upper altitude for the layer. I don't know where you are getting your weather from, but certainly all the normal sources (FS downloads, and external weather programs) that I know of set quite thin layers.

There is only one visibility layer, and FSUIPC only applies its limits to it. To get restricted visibility above that you need to use the graduated visibility option. Set a target maximum visibility and altitude, with a base of 0 (so FSUIPC uses the top of the visibility layer), then the visibility will gradually increase above the layer up to that maximum at that altitude.

Regards,

Pete

[Harpya]

Hi Pete,

first of all, thanks for the fast reply! :D

I will check it out, think some more, and come back if I still feel I don't get it. :?