Cloud Bases

[Glider 0]

I am trying to soar at Moriarty, NM (0E0). The field elevation is 6200 ft. When I try to start the clouds are all on the deck and no thermals since they are too low. Is the thermal height setting in CumulusX MSL or AGL? Thanks for your help.

[Peter Lürkens 30]

Hi,

Initially it is MSL. However there is a gradual adjustment for ground elevation, which is found on the Configurations panel as "Ground Elevation Effect". f it is set to 0, then cloud base is pure MSL, if it is 1.0, then it is pure AGL. The default setting 0.5 is something in between, i.e. in high terrain, clouds are a somewhat higher, but not enough to compensate the elevation completely.

However, this is normally relevant only, if you fly in "Clear skies", with the "Unblue" option active. In this case CumulusX! has no indication of cloud base from FSX weather engine, and uses its own setting for the base altitude, which might be too low in your case. If you use the fair weather theme, e.g., then FSX clouds will be automatically set high enough for your terrain, and CumulusX! will adopt their altitude.

I suggest to make yourself an appropriate setting and save it for re-use, with a higher altitude range of the thermals (or use the "Fine Alps Thermals" preset).

best regards,

Peter