Flying Through Snowy Southern California, Virtually

Microsoft Flight Simulator offers an opportunity to explore unique weather conditions—and the pucker factor—before takeoff.

Peter James

Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 07:51 PM ET

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A Carenado G1000-equipped Cessna 182 Skylane in Microsoft Flight Simulator. [Courtesy: Peter James]

Key Takeaways:

The author tested Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS2020) by flying in Southern California during record snowfalls, finding its live weather modeling accurately replicated adverse conditions like snow squalls, wind shear, and icing, closely matching real-world METARs.
The simulator demonstrated impressive realism in modeling environmental factors such as ridge lift, thermals, and dynamic weather interactions with terrain.
Using dedicated flight simulator hardware (yoke, pedals, Honeycomb throttle system) significantly enhances the immersion and fidelity, making the simulation experience more realistic.
Modern flight simulators, with their high level of detail and realistic weather/physics, are presented as valuable tools for professional aviators to improve and maintain proficiency.

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Earlier this month, record snowfalls and cold hit Southern California. I grew up in the Los Angeles valley and have always loved flying in the area on any flight sim. One of my favorite places to visit is Big Bear City Airport (L35), perched at over 6,000 feet msl on top of a ridge near lakes and ski resorts. I decided I’d put real weather to the test to see how good it is, compared to the most recent actual METAR.

On this particular day the winds were 250 at 8 gusting 17 kts., 4 miles in mist, scattered at 700, broken 1100, broken 1600. [Courtesy: Peter James]

Conditions were lousy—a snowy scene with snow squalls or flurries about. The radar on ForeFlight showed the snow showers in spots west and southwest of the field. Since live weather runs constantly, I wanted to take a look.