Is Active Sky Really Better Than MSFS Weather? | Full Review & Live Weather Comparison for MSFS 2020

Active Sky was a must have program years ago for virtual pilots using FSX, X-Plane and p3d. These flight simulators could'nt do live weather injection very well. MSFS 2020 however, is another matter and so, is Active Sky really better than MSFS's default live weather? In this video, we compare the two against real live weather from around the world and find out.

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[BluGames]

wow this is the absolute BEST way to compare the 2 by showing the live real world pictures. Genius my friend. have always trusted and respected your input

[Rhinozherous]

Staying with MSFS weather. Thank you for the comparison!

[NyctaOfficial]

would love to see a video on the turbulence, windshear, and other effects that active sky provides that msfs is currently lacking a lot. I use realturb for the turbulence effects but it still won't simulate a microburst.

[MrPhantom]

Thank you for this video. You've just saved me the cost of buying the Active Sky package. The only element that would be of benefit would be to have a save facility to capture my favourite weather systems I've flown so I'm able to replicate this again at some future point.

[eddiezetlein]

Its fair to say that AS is going to improve over time as all other iterations did and its still early days. For me the historical weather feature is the real biggie. You do probably need to read the manual and apply the settings that you prefer in order to get the best experience. Did you ever do a comparison video with Rex Weather Force ? That would be equally interesting. Well thought out and crafted video though.

[deepredson]

Got it on day one just for Historical.
If Weather Radar comes within the year (for PMDG injection, I mean) then so much the better.
MSFS default weather is fine. I don't use AS for that (yet, until improved).
I had AS for all sims going back to FSX, X-Plane, etc.
I guess it's akin to supporting my sports team.
For me it's for fun and imagination.
Wonderful review. Really good!
Barty

[flicmcfly]

These WX injectors for MSFS are a big step backwards. I really do not understand why we want to go back to Metar-based WX generation where the weather will be the same all around you along with weather popping in, etc. The best part of MSFS live WX is seeing the distant fronts, clouds, fog, etc and being able to fly to it or around, etc. It has some flaws but it really is what we all wanted in a sim many years ago. As great as AS was in FSX/P3D, I just don't understand the need for these programs in MSFS...

[TheNordicVoyager]

It's great for augmenting the live wx with all those effects. In a GA airplane, the air is moving the whole time. But the main reason for me to buy it is the historical wx. Sure, it's just metar-based, but that's better than no historical wx at all!

[meader]

hmm i don t know . As a meteorologist I could say that not the cloud depth and contrast matters here . i think what matter is the right type of layer clouds avalabile . so in that particullary case which you say that the clouds are too flat i thing that is exactly what should be as stratocumulus are not vertically clouds. so depends of what you see in the sky . i will try the app and see it by myself .

[TeamSethRules]

Having had active Sky for Xplane some years ago was thinking about getting this but watching your video it’s definite no. MSFS weather does a great job I’ve always thought and this video confirms that belief. Just saved some money. Thanks.

[JGE_DK]

The MSFS Live Weather had its issues, yes. But as it is now, MSFS Live Weather is actually fairly accurate. Still not perfect, but definitely a pretty significant improvement. In my personal opinion, and as much as it hurts to write this (I was very happy with Active Sky in FSX), I don't think it's needed at this moment.

[DerZEITverbraucher]

Thanks for the great video!
For me, the historic weather is the biggest advantage. Since I usually only have time to fly in the evening, I always have "evening" weather situations in "live weather" mode. This often means less turbulence, cloud patterns that have dissipated during the day due to the sun, etc. The possibility that now exists with AS to simply set the time in the sim back a few hours and to have the weather situations in the morning or at noon, I find outstanding. For this reason, the purchase was worthwhile for me.

Happy landings to all of you and thanks again for the detailed video.

[danceswithsheep]

Now this is doing a comparison the right way. Active Sky may have bells and whistles people will be interested in but for me I’m looking for the closest representation of live weather, I don’t expect perfection and MS delivers in this video.

[gregoryl.]

In all fairness, I think you need to look through the settings, read the 50 page manual. I saw one setting that enhances cumulus due to the way weather is reported at different weather stations.

[larsw]

Active Sky adds historical weather, which is its main feature, and will probably allow for a weather radar in sophisticated add-on planes. Why is this not possible in MSFS after four years?

[citylimitsphoto]

Thanks for the video. I think I will sit on the fence a while longer.

[juniormulenga]

I'd have to say that the MSFS live weather coupled with RealTurb CAT app makes for a great combination. even has cloud turbulence.! while not perfect, it's a whole lot cheaper and more user-friendly. With Active sky (user since fsx days), the sudden weather shifts due to the point to point weather station injection was rather brutal, with msfs live weather, the transition feels seamless and smooth.

[vpchx]

I do not fully agree, but that is partly about what things are important for me personally. Historical weather is very important to me, being able to watch and edit my recording of an approach I made the night before. That live weather mode of MSFS is not letting me skip back (or save it properly as far as I know). Not having a normal way of setting groundvisibility has always been a very big annoyance for me. About the weather depection being more accurate in MSFS: I found it hard to tell. Did you ever have 9KM visibility in the METAR of a Thailand airport and watched how MSFS shows this? It is almost like CAT II conditions. I hope AS will help me more with this, especially when newer versions are developed (in FSX and P3D it also needed some development). I look forward to more control on the turbulence in- and outside clouds. MSFS live weather might be beautiful skypainting wise, but it is too much black box for me and I prefer to have more control and insight what is happening. May be that is my older history with FS2->FSX and P3D I don't know LOL. Finally: it is important to put all your settings right including download interval which might make comparing difficult in vids like this. Starting AS after MSFS launch may also have a negative effect om some details.

[AirlinersLive]

As a long time Active Sky user for FSX, P3D and Xplane, I'll be giving it a miss at the moment unless they improve it. I agree. Everything i have seen so far it's very flat.

Excellent video and thanks for the shout out!

[markIburgess]

Personally I still think MSFS has the edge and I don't see any advantage using Active Sky. However the windshear, wake turbulence etc is interesting.
Gavin you mentioned in you stream the other night how as soon as it stops raining the ground dries out. Like you this has bugged me a bit. Hope they can sort this out in 2024.
Good review though.