Wind – measured by other gliders

You are at 1,800 m on the ridge, and your next climb is 20 km upwind. The weather stations on the map tell you the wind in the valley. They do not tell you the wind up where you are going.

With SeeYou Navigator 3.12, the Live wind layer also shows the wind that other pilots measure in the air.

You share yours. They share theirs. Everyone gets better wind data.

Why wind from other pilots?

Until now, Live wind showed only ground weather stations. That is useful for take-off and landing. But the wind near the ground is often different from the wind at thermal height. Valleys turn it and ridges block it. And in many good flying areas, the nearest station is far away.

SeeYou Navigator already calculates the wind while you fly. It does this mainly from how your circles drift in a thermal. If a connected instrument sends airspeed, Navigator uses that too. Version 3.12 collects these measurements from pilots who share their live position, and shows them on everyone’s map.

The more pilots share, the better the wind picture becomes for everyone.

What you get

  • Wind at flying height, not only at ground level
  • Wind where pilots actually fly, even far from weather stations
  • Fresh measurements, using only data from the last 45 minutes
  • A better picture of the conditions ahead, built from pilots already flying there

How it works

  1. You fly with SeeYou Navigator, Oudie N or Omni, and you share your live position. Navigator sends its wind measurements together with your position.
  2. The Naviter server collects the measurements from all pilots. It keeps them for 45 minutes.
  3. The server divides the map into squares, about 16 km from north to south and a little less from east to west. It averages all measurements in one square into one arrow.
  4. Your Navigator downloads the arrows for the area on your screen every 10 minutes, and again when you move the map to a new area.

In other words: your measurements help other pilots, and their measurements help you.

How to use it 🤓

Step 1: Turn on the Live wind layer

Open the Layers panel and make sure Live wind is enabled. For most pilots, it is already on. The same layer shows both ground stations and wind from other pilots.

Step 2: Read the arrows

Zoom in to a regional view to see the arrows. Each arrow points in the direction the wind blows. The label under the arrow shows the average speed and the strongest gust. For example, 12/18 means an average of 12 and gusts up to 18, in your wind speed unit. The colour of the arrow also indicates wind strength.

Step 3: Tap an arrow for details

Tap an arrow to open its details. Wind measured by pilots is shown as Aircraft wind.

The panel shows:

  • Speed – the average of all measurements in the square
  • Gusts – the highest single measurement in the square
  • Direction – where the wind comes from
  • Altitude – the average altitude of the measurements
  • Measurements – how many measurements make up the average
  • Aircraft – how many different aircraft sent them

Tips & tricks 👀

  • Check the altitude. One arrow mixes measurements from several heights. If the other pilots were at 3,000 m and you are at 1,600 m, the wind at your height can be different.
  • Check how many measurements there are. An arrow made from 40 measurements by 6 aircraft is more reliable than one made from 2 measurements by 1 aircraft.
  • Compare with the stations below. A station arrow in the valley and an aircraft arrow above it show you how the wind changes with height. Station arrows also have a wind history chart. Aircraft wind arrows do not.
  • Colours depend on your sport. Paragliding and hang gliding profiles use lower wind limits than gliding, because the wind becomes dangerous (red or black) to a paraglider much sooner than to a sailplane pilot.
  • Your name is not shown. Other pilots see only the average, the number of measurements and the number of aircraft.
  • Stay online. Live wind needs an internet connection in flight. Use the Naviter SIM card to stay connected at all times.

Put more wind on the map

Live wind from other pilots is available in SeeYou Navigator 3.12 for Android and iOS, and on Oudie N, Omni and Nimo. Update Navigator and share your live position.

You share yours. They share theirs. Everyone gets better wind data.

To learn more about the Live wind layer, read the Live wind article in the Knowledge Base.