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How to Download Live Weather in Microsoft Flight Simulator

Live weather has been a feature of Microsoft Flight Simulator for several years now. The feature downloads weather reports for the entire planet over the Internet and uses them to reproduce current conditions within the simulator. When it first appeared, it was a major step forward in creating a realistic and believable virtual flying environment.

Things You'll Need

Microsoft Flight Simulator
An Internet connection

Instructions

- 1
  Run Flight SImulator.
- 2
  Go to the ""Free Flight" or "Create a Flight" mode of the simulator, depending upon which version you are using.
- 3
  Select a departure location for your flight.
- 4
  Click on the "Current Weather" button.
- 5
  Select either "Download Real World Weather (Static)" or "Download Real World Weather (every 15 minutes)" at the lower left of the screen. The latter option will automatically redownload the weather every 15 minutes during your flight. This creates more realistic weather changes, but depending upon your hardware, you may experience a drop in frame rates each time the weather is downloaded. The choice is yours.
- 6
  Click "OK" at the bottom right of the screen. A progress bar will appear as the weather is downloaded. The a weather map will display the current weather conditions for the location you have selected.
- 7
  Click "OK" at the bottom right of the screen to confirm that you want to use the weather you just downloaded.
- 8
  Finish configuring your flight, and click the "Fly Now" button

Aviation