SURVEY IMPROVEMENT_IDEA

I have not commented on a suggestion when it is essentially a repeat of a previous comment that I have already commented on.  Also, I have only provided comments when a short one is possible and have not tried to answer those which would require a long discussion.

1 =========== Milton Hare *AT* Williams, CA
ETA BLIPMAPs, emailed BLIPs (like TIP is now)
The first priority is just to create BLIPs at other (non-CA-NV) locations of the US.

2 =========== Steve Ford *AT* Truckee, CA
This summer, your website requested feedback. I sent you a long email with several suggestions to improve the interface of the website. I do not have a copy of the email, but those comments still apply.

5 =========== Steve Koerner *AT* Phoenix, AZ
1. Fixed color schemes and numbers printed on map to aid those of us with poor color distinguishing capability. 2. Airport and/or towns marked on maps instead of topo lines.
Already done.
3. Larger map with finer resolution
Would not be meaningful with present model resolution.

8 =========== David Martin *AT* Soaring Club of Houston, TX
show soaring sites on the map

14 =========== ---------- *AT*
CAPE, LI, KI

15 =========== ---------- *AT* Ojai, CA
Having some sort of prediction based on more traditional weather forecasts. For example, surface heating, BL Height, etc are dependant on sun. If high "scuds" move in the accuracy is changed dramatically. Currently the BLIPs dont seem to take into account such occurrences.

17 =========== ---------- *AT* TSA Midlothian, TX
It would be very useful if the outline of counties could be overlaid onto the maps as well as big cities.Being able to zoom in on the image would be very helpful too.

21 =========== ---------- *AT* Blairstown, NJ
Maybe a mail to announce when the blip map is ready? Yahoo groups or something like that could be a good forum for BlipMap heads.
I will be adding that "soon".

24 =========== Jonathan Gere *AT* Fairfield, PA
Maps of min(cloud base, TI of 0) with hatch for cu areas or second set of pleths for Fair Weather Cu probability
A forecast of "puffy cloud cloudbase" is on my "to-do" list.  (See  http://www.drjack.net/BLIPMAP/to-do.html)

27 =========== Rick Hernan *AT* Youngsville, PA
I would appreciate it if you could use the same colors for the same parameters. You change the colors frequently, and it could be confusing.
See  http://www.drjack.net/BLIPMAP/faq.html
General comment:  BLtop is expected to be most useful in regions of complex topography, expecially with small scale features not resolved by the model - for flat-land conditions (for which Hcrit is expected to be the predictor of choice.  Unfortunately it is often not known whether the reporter was evaluating flight with complex topo or not.  As with all BLIPMAP predictors, relative predictions are expected to be more accurate than absolute predictions. 

32 =========== ---------- *AT* Menomonie, WI
More times for the North Central region.
That is already available. It would be really nice to have a second set of forecasts based on the 1200Z soundings. By 2100Z the forecasts based on 0000Z soundings are starting to get a bit fictitious.
This indicates a misintrepretation of how the BLIPMAPs work.  All forecasts use the more recent data. It would also be nice to have a little graphic of the sounding chart based on the locatoin of one's choice that only extends to 12000 ft or so -- standard charts go far into the stratosphere, and the boundary layer data is so compressed it's hard to read and interpret.

34 =========== Dieter Jaeger *AT* La Grange, GA
A confidence interval would be nice. i.e. for the major parameters it would be nice to derive an estimate of how much the forecast could be off.
Not easy to do for most parameters, but there is a parameter for the BL top variability.

36 =========== Tony Gaechter *AT* Truckee, CA
More frequent updates during the day.

37 =========== ---------- *AT* Turf Soaring, Phoenix, AZ
Add something for geographic reference, like interstates and or major glider ports.
That is now available.

39 =========== Tom Saunders *AT* Blairstown, NJ 1N7
Long range forecasts.

40 =========== ---------- *AT* Boulder, CO
Finer resolution and ability to zoom in on that resolution.

41 =========== ---------- *AT* hemet, CA and driggs, ID
We have emailed before about color definition, and with education, I have less to comment about. But still.... Take for instance yesterday's (12/7/2002) forecast for CA/NV BL depth. Is the green west of the San Jacinto range 3000-4000 feet, or 4000-5000 feet?

42 =========== Ray Williams *AT* Mountain Valley Apt. Tehachapi, CA
I would like to see more detail on the Antelope Valley area as we frequently have severe wind conditions that prevent take off due to direction.

45 =========== Chris Ruf *AT* LaGrange, GA and Benton/Chattanooga, TN
#1 A map showing what forecast high temps the program is using. This key info will help us gage whether to expect actual conditions to be stronger or weaker than what the program said. This would also help us guess the impact of unforecast cirrus.
A problem is that that determining the max requires info from other times, which is not easily done.  What could be provided is the predicted surface temperature at each time.  That information is supplied with the BLIPs since they are intended to show variations with time. #2 Overlap between maps, some soaring sites and task areas lie on map edges and this is annoying. Do you now have the cpu power to do this?

48 =========== David Piotrowski *AT* Wurtsboro, NY
More detail incorporated into the maps would be helpful for me. There are many days when there myself and fellow users are discussing the BLIPMAPS on the phone..and we are trying to discribe certain features to each other and where that particular weather might begin or start relative to a landmark... we think we know "about" where our home airport is relative to the map, but it might be helpful to have dots for airports for example...

50 =========== Russ Hustead *AT* Payson, AZ
Southwest available at multiple times City or Airport overlay for Arizona

51 =========== George Morford *AT* Mission Peak, Fremont, CA
A way for the user to specify input parameters for the BLIPs would be VERY useful. The most useful would be GPS coordinats. The parameters could be in the URL so that a saved favorite would take us there immediately each day.

53 =========== Terence Honikman *AT* Santa Barbara, CA
I will be happy to suggest geographic points for map overlays. Color codes sometimes difficult to discriminate - possible to add texture to separate similar colors better?

59 =========== Frank Peel *AT* Fremont, CA
It is my understanding that you are planning on adding TIPs for a couple of SF sites. That is great and very much appreciated, but unfortunately, based on the initial information provided about its focal point, the TIP for Mission Ridge will be all but useless for the majority of this site's users because the focal point is too far down range. Though potentially useful for pilots desiring to go XC from Mission Ridge, that group includes less than 10 pilots out of our club's ~500 members. Almost no one flies XC out of Mission due to the lack of reasonable fields in which to land out. A TIP based on the actual flying site would be much more useful to a vastly larger group of pilots. It would also be useful for XC pilots as the biggest gap to jump when flying XC from there is just down wind of it.

61 =========== ---------- *AT* Front Royal, VA
In my opinion, the biggest weakness I see in BLIPMAPS is the inability to forecast the effect of high cirrus filtering or blocking the sun. Fixing this would be a major improvement, in my mind.
I agree, but easier said than done.  This remains a basic model weakness.

62 =========== Matt Gillis *AT* Hollister, CA; Truckee, CA
1) A BLIPMAP that compiles parameters, such as, the Boundary layer Depth, convergence maxima, thermal strength, etc. into an index. 2)An interactive BLIPMAP, i.e.,using the above one (multiple times) that when one clicks on it, an FSL-MAPS forcast sounding pops up to give a forcast profile of the atmosphere at that location-time.=20 3) Take the interactive thing one step further and link to other useful WX parameters and sources associated with that location. 4) Take it another step further, for post flight evaluation, link the maps to sat pics for the time and day (kind of like the Labor Day 2002 comparison). 5) Since data storage is clearly an issue, provide a means to collectively download selected information for post flight evaluation. Just a Wish List

66 =========== ---------- *AT* Blairstown, NJ
48 hour forecasts

69 =========== ---------- *AT* Crestline, CA
please use uniform color scales on maps that is ,example: hcrit 18k is always white 18+ is black, 17 red down to pink, yellow green blue purple etc
See  http://www.drjack.net/BLIPMAP/faq.html

71 =========== ---------- *AT* Manquin Flight Park, Manquin, VA
1) Different color scheme. I prefer ROYGBIV 2) Consistent contour intervals and coloring 3) Chart depicting trigger temperature when parcels reach 4K'. 4) Chart depicting trigger time when parcels reach 4K'.
3+4 require knowledge about what occurs at different times so is not easily done.  A BLIP prediction would be the best solution here.

72 =========== Colin J Barry *AT* Boulder, CO
The color coding on the maps is tough to read around here as we have soaring upto 20K ft. It would be neat if we could get the maps targetted for specfic screen resolutions 1026x768 800x600 etc. Also for interpretation purposes it would be cool if we could get one page that had all the maps rather than having to drill down on each parameter. Simultaneous animation of mutiple maps would be extra cool.... Yes I have broadband.

73 =========== ---------- *AT* Bermuda High Soaring School, Lnacaster, SC
Ability to re-size the print. Ability to print in diferentiatable colors.

74 =========== ---------- *AT* Warner Springs, CA
A few more land marks. Perhaps a few glider sites.

76 =========== Lach Ohman *AT* Kendallville, IN
I haven't become well enough acquainted with BLIPMAPS yet to comment much in detail, but I can see the advantages in using them, and my friends who have used them more than I attest to their accuracy, in our home area of northeast Indiana, at least. I don't even know yet what ETA signifies.

77 =========== ---------- *AT* California City, CA
better terrain map resolution would be nice, but site locations as listed in the TO DO list would suffice.

84 =========== ---------- *AT* Caddo Mills, TX
if there was a way to include reference points on the maps to zero in on locations.

85 =========== ---------- *AT* Colgan ONT, Canada
Animations, and Longer range forecasting. A zoom feature to look more intensely in a specific area.

88 =========== ---------- *AT* Crazy Creek, CA
All I can think of is finer grained data and longer forcast times (i.e., farther out) but I know you're already working on both.

90 =========== ---------- *AT* Williams, CA
I would love to see an LWIP for the Mendicino/Williams area!

102 =========== ---------- *AT* HDH (HI), TRK (CA), MEV (NV)
A little less clutter of the maps, maybe slightly enlarged scale.

106 =========== ---------- *AT* hutchinson, KS
A .bmp format (or other format easily converted to .bmp), available as an iconized file. Add some lat/long grid marks (not necessarily lines) that I can use to rescale the size. Then I bring in the color scale on top of the Kansas part(using Adobe). I bring the modified blipmap into my planning/viewing software as a map. The turnpoints are laid on top. Since the only scaling points I have are the Kansas borders, that is what I use. Anything you can do to square up the maps and put lat/long reference marks would help.
BLIPMAP injestion into SeeYou will likely be available in the not-so-distant future.

107 =========== Jim Phoenix *AT* Wurtsboro, NY
Consistent colors used form day to day

108 =========== ---------- *AT* LaGrange, GA
a three day outlook would be great....

111 =========== ---------- *AT* Canon City, CO
I'd like to see lomger range forecasts - though CO is really tough. I tend to go fly no matter how bad the forecast during the summer as things change so fast.

114 =========== Ramy Yanetz *AT* Hollister, CA
1 - Higher resolution maps. 2 - More detailed maps with location identifiers. 3 - constant color legends. 4 - more blips (see above). 5 - Earlier forcast.

117 =========== ---------- *AT* Caddo Mills, TX
I would like to see additional local definition added to the maps. Right now I overlay a local roadmap layer onto the BLIPMAPS in a fashion similar to what Wally Raisanen does for some of the contests. Without this it is difficult to identify our local area on the coarse BLIPMAP.

120 =========== ---------- *AT* Monroe, GA
Please put Georgia on one map! Primary flying site requires looking at two maps (SE and S Cent) which makes it more cumbersome

122 =========== ---------- *AT* Estrella Sailport, Maricopa, AZ
BLIPMAP TO-DO LIST looks good

123 =========== ---------- *AT* TSA Glider Field/Midtholian, TX
It would help me if there were county lines (boundaries) on the map or maybe a dot for the larger cities so I could do a better job locating myself and selecting turnpoints in advance. I fly in Texas mostly and I have trouble locating TSA and our flying area on the blipmaps. We also have some fairly large lakes in the flying area and it would help in planning the best way around them. Thanks for all your effort.

126 =========== Greg Arnold *AT* Santa Ynez, CA
More resolution -- very important at Santa Ynez, where we are right between the coastal and the desert influence.
Much of what is meaningful is presently limited by the basic model resolution being 20km.

136 =========== Clay J Thomas *AT* Black Forest Soaring Society Elbert, CO
It would be nice to push a button and watch a map change over time, from the present to, say, 48 hours out.

137 =========== ---------- *AT* Hinckley, IL
Would more recent data make the BLIPMAPS even more accurate? I believe the issue is data processing time but I am not sure.

140 =========== ---------- *AT* Chilliwack, BC, Canada
Like any other paraglider pilot, the more detailed and scaled up the information can be, the more useful it is for me. So, the bigger (the map), the better!

141 =========== ---------- *AT* Forrest City, AR
see above

144 =========== Louis Fitzpatrick *AT* Philadephia Glider Council, Hilltown, PA
larger maps and more detail

146 =========== Sergio Colacevich *AT* Truckee/Williams, CA
Wind direction and speed not easy to visualize. I use the website "http://virga.sfsu.edu/gif/jetstream_pac_init_00.gif". That kind of presentation is the best for these parameters.

147 =========== Bob Fidler *AT* Ionia, MI
Show the above relationship, cloud height, thermal strength as it relates to temperature rise.

148 =========== ---------- *AT* Front Royal, VA (Skyline Soaring Club)
ETA 3-day forecasts for strategic planning purposes. Multiple times (3hr) throughout the day. Spot meteograms - See http://www.weathersa.co.za/glider/aero.htm. Under "Areas" both the contour plots and the "Spot Graph" are extremely useful. It would be great if you can do something similar (I know you can do much better...).

152 =========== Mike Koerner *AT* Crystalaire, CA
1) longer range forecasts. 2) larger regions or a contiguous national map (with no loss of resolution please). On most weekends I fly through two of the existing regions. 2a) If larger regions are not possible, perhaps adjustable color scales so I can match one regions scale with the next.

153 =========== ---------- *AT* KLGU in UT
In areas with very different terrain in very close region and influence of the Great Salt Lake the maps don't work real well. Always over predict for us.

159 =========== James L Lamb *AT* Whitewater, WI
1) On most days I must begin driving by 6:30-7:00AM to get to flight field. Those maps that project next day are most important. 2) Could you use arrows for winds and then allow layers of info. I haven't thought it through but maybe there are other maps/pieces of info that are better viewed together!?

161 =========== Dale Kramer *AT* Harris Hill, NY
I believe two parameters that govern the start and end times of soaring flight on a day would be extremely useful in planning big flights. I suggest that these be Blipmaps with time as the plotted parameter. The two times would be something like: 1. The first time of day when sustainable lift is attained up to 2000 feet above ground. 2. The last time of day when sustainable lift lowers to 4000 feet above ground. (final gliding in dead air is OK)

162 =========== ---------- *AT* Salida, CO
Not knowlegeable enough to comment. Working on it.

167 =========== Walter Rogers *AT* California City, CA
I'd like to add to your work with other software modules for new displays or analysis. Can you modularize the software and make some of the intermediate data formats available? For example, other programs could write perl modules that extract forecast/observed max temps for use in your calculations. That way, Jack, you wouldn't have to manage every single detail of this service.
A great idea in concept, but difficult to figure out how do since there are so many different pieces.  I will keep it in mind but expect that to be a long-range project.

168 =========== ---------- *AT* Hollister CA
Localised airmass convergences in the boundary layer, defined by terrain, airflow and boundary layer thickness. Specific areas include Mono basin, Owens Valley, Mojave desert and Diablo range passes into the central valley, areas around Hollister and also around the Shasta & Montague area. I know this is difficult but it would afford tremendous advances in developing the soaring potential of all these areas.
Much of what is meaningful is presently limited by the basic model resolution being 20km.