System for collection dissemination and presentation of near real-time images of weather and runway conditions at distant locations

摘要

A data collection and display system that displays near real-time images of distant weather and runway conditions to pilots and other end users to be used in flight planning and execution. The system uses cameras and hardware at the distant location, which regularly transmit still video images of the sky, horizon and runways (if at an airport) to an Internet Service Provider. The images are then accessed by a web site and presented to the user to assist with flight planning. Each current image is juxtaposed on the computer monitor against a clear-day image that shows conditions as they appear when there are no weather related obstructions to vision. The current image may then be compared to the clear-day image to assist the user in ascertaining both quantitative and qualitative information about the weather and runway conditions at the site in question.