WingX 2.0 User Manual - FAASafety.gov

Chapter
11
Weather Textual Reports Page
Weather reports are a fundamental piece of the go/no-go decision making process. Pilots
are put at a disadvantage by the fact that weather text is encoded, not easily available for
viewing away from their desktop, and based primarily on instantaneous and singular
observations.
WingX takes plain old METARs, TAFs, winds aloft, and temperatures aloft and displays the data in a
rich, color-coded format that makes the weather information easy to read. In addition, WingX has
some views and settings that can really help the pilots get a better understanding of the airports’
weather conditions as well as those of the surrounding area. WingX will also show route weather
by showing those METARs, TAFs, winds loft, and temperatures aloft along the route of flight.
Downloading the Latest Weather
WingX obtains its weather information from www.aviationweather.gov – NOAA’s National Weather Service.
Hilton Software’s servers process and compress the information so that download times to and memory
requirements for the handheld device are reduced. This translates into faster access to weather information,
reduced bandwidth and lower costs when paying for a wireless data plan (Pocket PC Phone Edition users).
How and When to Download Weather
Obviously an Internet is required to download the weather information. This internet connection can come in
many forms including having the Pocket PC cradled, an 802.11a/b/g wireless connection, a Bluetooth
connection to a cell phone that has wireless data capability, and using a Pocket PC Phone Edition with a data
plan. As long as WingX can find an internet connection, it does not matter what kind of connection it is,
WingX will essentially just use what connection it can get. By not being specific about its internet connection
requirements, WingX provides the ultimate flexibility and allows the user to choose the internet connection
setup that suits the needs.
When the weather data is more than 15 minutes old, the weather download date will change from green to blue.
When the data is more than one hour old, the weather download date will change to red thereby clearly
showing the user that the weather information being used is old and potentially out-of-date and no longer valid.
Anytime the weather is more than 15 minutes old, WingX will prompt the user the download the latest weather
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