Wichita — WeatherData Inc. has unveiled a futuristic forecasting system that could be mounted in the cockpit of an airplane or even clipped to a jogger's belt.
The Wichita-based company showed off AnywhereWX, a moving map and weather advisory system, Tuesday at the opening day of AirVenture 2002 in Oshkosh, Wis.
"We're giving a guy in a Skyhawk as good a weather system as an airline captain has that's what makes it so exciting," said Tom Reed, vice president of operations for Control Vision, the Pittsburg company that is producing the AnywhereWX with WeatherData.
The system, which starts at about $3,000, can be mounted in airplanes so pilots can monitor weather during flights. The program takes the radar data from all 141 Doppler radar sites in the country and overlays them onto the same map.
WeatherData founder Mike Smith said the technology would allow pilots to plot new courses around storms.
Although the system is being introduced in airplane cockpits, it could be used in several ways, he said.
"It's not a stretch at all to say these things are coming to the consumer's belt near you," Reed said.
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