Patrick Lehnen went chasing the Weather for us and wrote this review: " With Flight Simulator 2000 came a new feature called ?Real Weather?. This function downloaded the real weather from a server at the MSN Gaming Zone and showed it in FS2000. With GetWeather Version 1.1 from Bearsoft (latest version is 1.4) the user could store the downloaded weather for later use on his/her hard disk. Today?s Flight Simulator 2002 connects to the weather server at Jeppesen which provides the real weather data. Get Weather was adapted to FS2002 with a new set of features, like the download of Winds aloft. ..." Click here to read Patrick Lehnen's full review of GetWeather 2.0 for FS2002
Features
Actually there is only one feature: storing downloaded weather scenarios on a hard disk for later reuse.
Installation
Installation went without a hassle. After I executed the downloaded file, a standard installation appeared and installed the program in a few seconds ? ready for use.
Configuration
Let?s do the dirty work first - the configuration of the program. The following picture shows the configuration screen where the user can set different options like the automatic start of the program every time windows starts, the flight simulator path, or the proxy settings if you are behind a proxy which comes in handy sometimes.
The second part of the configuration is optional and can be used to use an automatic download at a given time. On the next screen the user can set up a schedule for automatic downloads of weather data.
Main Window
Now, let?s move on to the program itself. As you can see on the next screen, the main window is clearly designed.
By clicking on the button Get Current Weather, the actual weather will be downloaded from Jeppesens?s server. A file is stored on the hard disk which is loaded by Flight Simulator?s Real-World-Weather request in the Weather dialog if the radio button Stored file is checked.
A nice feature is the comment editor where a short description and a comment can be added to a weather file. If I wouldn?t have read the help file, I didn?t even know that a comment editor exists. It is a bit misleading that the Info button displays the comment editor. I thought that the Info button shows the METAR description of a weather file.
Conclusion
The program allows you to store the downloaded weather data on a hard disk, which in my opinion is a valuable feature because I can fly a stormy approach or in a heavy snow storm in summer which makes me shiver on a hot summer day. The program is suited for everybody which likes to fly in real weather as far as FS2002 can simulate it.
What I really miss is a METAR decoder and viewer.
I detected no crashes after using the program for months.
For me it is a must have because it is freeware, a small download even for modem users and a good addition to Microsoft?s Flight Simulator 2000/2002.
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