How thick is the band of wind?

[Mongoose]

  For example.  At 14,000 feet the wind is blowing north.  How thick is this band of wind?  How far above and below 14K does the effect extend?

[mechanic]

I believe it is set in layers of 2000ft, presumably 1000ft either side. I'd have to check that to be sure.

You can check in offline mode by going to arena settings and adjusting the wind layers yourself. Can be quite fun making high winds and playing VTOL bomber

[Mongoose]

  I was playing around in the Main Arena, and it seems to extend upwards 1000 feet.  So the wind chart shows a north wind at 14k, the effect seems to go from 14k to 15k.  I need to do further testing to be sure.  Stand by for further developments.


  By the way...   The way I tested this was to go into a normal climb headed due south.  When I hit 14k, my climb rate went way up (since I was climbing into the wind) until I got to 15k, then it went back to normal.  When climbing headed due north, my climb rate went down when I hit 14k and went back to normal when I went past 15k.  As I said, further testing is needed.

[Zoney]

If you right click on your map with the clipboard up and check "wind" it shows you which direction at what altitude the wind is.

[DubiousKB]

I was under the impression that the wind layers followed the Wind & direction provided when right-clicking the clipboard map.

...always thought the wind was present at the speed and heading indicated, ie 14k-16k has a layer, 16k-18k has a layer, and so on and so forth...

Interesting that it may only be 1000ft as tested above. . . 

[Lusche]

  By the way...   The way I tested this was to go into a normal climb headed due south.  When I hit 14k, my climb rate went way up (since I was climbing into the wind) until I got to 15k, then it went back to normal. 

Your ROC went up because suddenly you got wind blowing towards you, effectively increasing your air speed. Your speed then normalizes as your airspeed has settled down.
The layers of wind are 2k thick, however they don't change abruptly but gradually over something like 300-500ft.


Next time you go on auto climb, just watch the wind vectors changing on your E6B.

[Max]

                                        ^     ^     ^     ^
                                       Knows everything

[Lusche]

                                        ^     ^     ^     ^
                                       Knows everything

No. Not even close.

She does:



 

[mechanic]

fragglerock! 

[Mongoose]

  Ok, I did a little more testing, and this is what I found.

  The wind started at 14,000 feet, but did not reach full strength until 14,500.  From there it stayed stable at 20 mph until just before 16,000 feet, where the wind started to change direction.  Just above 16,000 the wind was blowing softly from the East, and reached full strength again at 16,500. 

   This told me what I need to know so I can avoid headwinds and pick up tailwinds.

  Hope this helps.

[Zoney]

  Ok, I did a little more testing, and this is what I found.

  The wind started at 14,000 feet, but did not reach full strength until 14,500.  From there it stayed stable at 20 mph until just before 16,000 feet, where the wind started to change direction.  Just above 16,000 the wind was blowing softly from the East, and reached full strength again at 16,500. 

   This told me what I need to know so I can avoid headwinds and pick up tailwinds.

  Hope this helps.

Have you right clicked and checked the wind to see what altitude and direction each layer is?

[Mongoose]

Have you right clicked and checked the wind to see what altitude and direction each layer is?

  Yes, I did.  But I was curious how far up each layer extended.  I also didn't know that it extended.  I thought that you hit 14k, or whatever, and bam.  But no.  It gradually increases in strength.  Also, it is not an instant switch from one direction to the other.  I know some folks would want different effects, but I think this works well without getting too complicated.

[DubiousKB]

It seems that the wind is at it's provided value at 500ft above the provided altitude up until just before the next wind layer start.  Interesting, I always thought it was a static amount of wind within a band of 2000ft.

I will usually use the wind layers to either gain alt quickly, or if in bombers, use it to get tailwinds away from enemy territory. Good to know Mongoose!

[McShark]

It seems that the wind is at it's provided value at 500ft above the provided altitude up until just before the next wind layer start.  Interesting, I always thought it was a static amount of wind within a band of 2000ft.

I will usually use the wind layers to either gain alt quickly, or if in bombers, use it to get tailwinds away from enemy territory. Good to know Mongoose!

It actually is. Wind starts at 14, gradually increases till full strength ( 20 or 30 miles ) to 14,5 k and keeps strength and direction till 16 k. Then the process starts all over. direction and strength change till 16.5 k and remain till 18.

So a layer develops within 500 feet but remains alltogether for 2000 feet. Last layer engages at 28 to 28,5 k and remains until in space.