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 of the launch direction, and blobs to the right of center represent wind coming from the right of the launch direction. It's as if you could see the wind arriving at launch. The size of the blobs show the forecast wind speed with larger blobs representing faster expected winds. The forecast sustained wind speed is shown as a small numeric value at the center of each blob, and the darker ring around the blob will show the forecast gust speed (when available).
The easiest way to use BlobPlot is to simply select the site you want to view from the list of known sites. Selecting a site will automatically set the longitude and latitude and the site's facing direction. Selecting a site will also automatically download the XML forecast data for that site and display it in the main window.
The display will show the forecast wind direction and speed relative to the site's normal launch direction. So winds that are aligned with the site's normal launch direction will show up in the middle of the screen. Winds arriving from the left of the normal launch direction will show up on the left of the screen, and winds arriving from the right of the normal launch direction will show up on the right of the screen. It's as if you could see the wind arriving at launch. Stronger winds will be shown with a larger radius, and lighter winds will be shown with a smaller radius. The actual wind speed will be drawn on top of each wind blob, and a "gust ring" of a darker color may surround each blob.
The color of each blob will reflect the amount of crosswind. Normally a wind arriving within +/- 15 degrees of the normal launch direction will be shown in green, winds arriving between 15 and 30 degrees will be shown in yellow, and winds arriving beyond 30 degrees will be shown in red. These color ranges (0 to 15, 15 to 30, and beyond 30) can be set with the "+/-" control. The default +/- value of 15 will produce the default ranges of 0-15, 15-30, and >30. Setting the +/- value to 10 degrees would give the ranges of 0-10, 10-20, >20. And setting the +/- value to 20 degrees would give the ranges of 0-20, 20-40, >40. These are just a helpful guide and should be set based on the skill level of the pilot. In all cases, pressing the "Apply" button will apply the new setting to the plot. You can experiment with this by changing the +/- value to 0 degrees and clicking the Apply button. With this setting, all blobs will be red except those exactly aligned with the preferred launch direction. Similarly, you could set the +/- value to 360 degrees and click the Apply button to show all directions as green.
The "Facing" setting simply adjusts the absolute wind direction so that it is relative to launch. So a site facing west should use a Facing setting of 270 degrees. A site facing south should use a Facing setting of 180 degrees. The Facing setting is automatically changed when a new site is selected. However, some sites have alternate launches facing in slightly different directions. Changing the Facing setting allows visualizing the launch winds at those alternate launch positions. You can experiment by changing the Facing setting by fixed amounts (such as 10 degrees) and clicking the Apply button. With each such change, the blobs will be shifted to the left or right reflecting that new Facing direction. Note that selecting a new site will automatically set the Facing direction to the normal launch direction for that site.
| Raw XML: | |
| Direction: | |
| Speed: | |
| Gust: |