BlobPlot shows forecast wind speed and direction as it might be observed on launch.
BlobPlot reads XML forecast data from weather.gov and parses
it for display as a series of "blobs" showing the time (top to bottom), the direction
(left to right) and the speed (size and value).
These are displayed relative to the direction of launch for each selected launch site,
so blobs at the center of the screen
represent wind coming straight into launch. Blobs to the left of center represent wind coming
from the left on launch, and blobs to the right of center represent wind coming from the right
of launch. The size of the blobs show the forecast wind speed with larger blobs representing faster expected winds.
The forecast speed is also shown as a small numeric value at the center of each blob.
Controls
- Site: Selects a flying site to view. This is the most important control, and it should generally be selected first.
- Load: Forces loading of the XML for a flying site. This is generally done automatically when a new site is selected, but the load button forces a reloading in case the data has changed.
- Map: Shows a map of the flying site.
- Weather: Shows the Weather.gov forecast page.
- Facing: Shows the direction the site faces. For example, a site facing west will show 270. This value is generally set automatically when a site is selected. However, it can be manually changed for different launch directions or different launches near the same site.
- +/-: Sets the tolerance range for the green, yellow, and red blobs relative to ideal launch direction. For example, the value of 15 means that winds up to 15 degrees (left or right) of the ideal launch direction will be shown as green. Winds from 15 to 30 degrees will be shown as yellow. And winds beyond 30 degrees will be shown as red. This value can be changed to match your own preferred limitations and preferences. The appropriate value also depends on any unique terrain features at each site.
- Days: Sets the number of days forecast in advance. A value of 1 will just show the next day. A value of 2 will show 2 days. Weather.gov typically only forecasts up to 7 days in advance, so that's the highest value.
- Window Width: Sets the width of the graphics window on your page.
- Window Height: Sets the height of the graphics window on your page.
- Apply: Used to apply all values (including numbers entered into text fields).
- View Control: Used to select viewing of additional panels. The currently available panels are:
- Help Panel - Displays helpful information (this panel)
- Data Panel - Displays the actual data values (Raw XML, Wind Direction, Wind Speed). These can be selected, copied, and pasted into other documents and applications for further analysis.
- No Panel - Shows no additional panel
- Show: This button forces the display of the selected view (sometimes needed when reloading).
BlobPlot 2.0