MMM-aviationwx (Aviation weather)

[cowboysdude]

@allebone

Finally a reasonable request…and an offer to help…

[stephenmelody]

@allebone said in MMM-aviationwx (Aviation weather):

Anything I can to help? Im actually an Air Force aviator trying to get a module like this for our Operations Center.

There is a universal coding standard for METARS in the Flight Information Handbook (FIH).

Also, I’d stick to ICAO identifiers as they automatically include international.

If you use the API from NOAA: https://aviationweather.gov/metar/data?ids=Rodn&format=raw&date=0&hours=0, the results always come imperial.

Bryan

Hey Bryan,

That last bit isn’t strictly true… the NOAA API will give you locally used units, not always imperial.

for example, pull the NOAA API for EGNX (UK), you’ll get:

EGNX 201650Z 25012KT 9999 BKN042 12/10 Q1010

Windspeed is in Kts, viz is in Metres (9999m or 10km+), Pressure is in hPa (Q for QNH 1010hPa).

UUDD (Russia):
UUDD 201700Z 13002MPS 9999 OVC025 01/M02 Q1011 R88/190095 NOSIG

wind is in m/s (130 degrees at 02m/s) and viz in metres, pressure in hPa (Q1011).

KPIT (USA):
KPIT 201651Z 21012G18KT 10SM SCT250 02/M06 A3013 RMK AO2 SLP221 T00221056

Wind in kts (210 @ 12kts, Gusting to 18kts), viz is statute miles (10SM), pressure in inHg (A3013).

So you do need to know the units you’re dealing with, which is nice with the avwx api, as it gives you the units.

I don’t know of anywhere that uses F for temperatures, it always seems to be Celcius, with M indicating minus so for PIT above, Temp = 02 degrees C, dew point Minus 06 degrees C.

[Mykle1]

@stephenmelody said in MMM-aviationwx (Aviation weather):

What does a UK airport give you? Maybe EGLL or EGNX as the codes?

[Mykle1]

@allebone said in MMM-aviationwx (Aviation weather):

Anything I can to help? Im actually an Air Force aviator trying to get a module like this for our Operations Center.

Not at the moment but I’ll let you know. Would I then be employed by the USAF? How big is their budget? ;-)

There is a universal coding standard for METARS in the Flight Information Handbook (FIH).

Uhh, I won’t be reading that. I’m just trying to make heads or tails of the requests being given here and the amount of data I have to deal with. FYI, I’m not a pilot. I’m a programming hobbyist.

Also, I’d stick to ICAO identifiers as they automatically include international.

Point taken.

If you use the API from NOAA: https://aviationweather.gov/metar/data?ids=Rodn&format=raw&date=0&hours=0, the results always come imperial.

This url encourages me, although it brings me to a web page displaying the data instead of the API data itself. Can you find me a url that brings me to the actual API data?

This is what your url gives me

This is what I need

[Mykle1]

@320fan said in MMM-aviationwx (Aviation weather):

Using of colored dot before ICAO code is a best solution (It’s more user-frendly than just a IFR/VFR etc.)

Read what I asked of @stephenmelody regarding this. Allow me to start off simply, without having to code a colored dot for each Flight Rule. User friendly, sure, but I’m doing this on my own time.

About different units - it’s nice to have a possibility to convert all units in the one base, but that request is not mandratory. In any case I can provide simple formulas for coversion of hPa into Hdg, F to C, kt to m/s and etc.

Again, I’m not willing, at the moment, to code every conversion. If the units are included in the data, that’s what you will get.

And if we going back to beginning: could you please make for the brief data format something like that from my lovely iPad AeroWeather application? This app is very popular for the pilots and it wiil be nce to keep more-less same base:

If we’re going back to the beginning then this is what you asked for initially. With the exception of the green icon, that’s what I’ve done so far.

[stephenmelody]

@Mykle1 Here…

https://aviationweather.gov/gis/scripts/MetarJSON.php

or maybe this:

https://aviationweather.gov/gis/javascript/Metars.js

However - the php file only seems to give North American and some random METARs, not the same coverage as that webpage gives… weird I know right?!

Also - the us gov doesn’t give local units like the avwx api does, so you have to make a leap of faith as to what it’s showing.

[Mykle1]

@stephenmelody

I do appreciate the effort. Thanks, but neither of those would work. However, I’ll be working on it in the next few days.

Questions: How many different Flight Rules are there? And how many different colors associated with them? Would a flight rule (IFR) colored appropriately, amount to the same thing as a colored circle?

[stephenmelody]

@Mykle1 It’s not great in that it doesn’t have full global weather either, so to the original requester’s requirements, it wouldn’t do the job anyway. the AVWX API looks to be better in that regard.

WRT flight conditions, this differs from country to country, the UK typically only reports 2, VFR or IFR. The US seems to have 4 (which is what I’d go with, i’ve never seen anything more that these 4):

VFR
MVFR
IFR
LIFR

There’s also two types of colour schemes, many pilots use the Alternative (I fly on alternative), so being able to configure this would be perfect…

Standard: VFR-Blue MVFR-Green IFR-Yellow LIFR-Red Unknown-Grey

Alternative: VFR-Green MVFR-Blue IFR-Red LIFR-Magenta Unknown-Grey

Would the text coloured per the rules work the same as a coloured circle? Yes - although a circle would be better for screen real estate I would imagine…

[Mykle1]

@stephenmelody

Ok, so here is where I stand. Yesterday, I began a second version of this module. It looks nearly identical to my first prototype. However, in this second version I was using the aviationweather API. Besides the fact that the data does not come in json format (my personal preference) the data itself doesn’t contain a “units” object. This seems fairly important to me. I’d rather have the units than not.

So, I’m going back to the original prototype and continue from there, using the avwx API.

[Mykle1]

@stephenmelody said in MMM-aviationwx (Aviation weather):

Standard: VFR-Blue MVFR-Green IFR-Yellow LIFR-Red Unknown-Grey
Alternative: VFR-Green MVFR-Blue IFR-Red LIFR-Magenta Unknown-Grey

Thanks for doubling my workload, Stephen. :-)