Using Grails to Make a Simple RC Weather App
Sunday, December 7, 2014 at 9:55AM 
I've been flying remote control helicopters (the acrobatic collective pitch ones, not 'drones') for over three years now, and I still get a lot out of the hobby. Recently I had an idea for a simple site/app that lets outdoor hobbiest get an at-a-glance view of how good the hourly weather looks for the extended forecast in their neck of the woods, and I've decided to implement this using Grails (with its somewhat steep learning curve). Another group at UMass uses it, and this app idea seems like a good candidate for learning Grails. I hope to blog a bit about the process, so here goes.
Goal: Show a summary of weather conditions for particular US zip code that quickly indicates the desirability of outdoor flying conditions in the next ~seven days. Along with the zip code, input would include (or default to) minimum temperature (optionally factoring in wind chill - say 40 °F), maximum wind speed (say 8 MPH), maximum precipitation potential (say 10%), and darkness.
User Interface: I haven't given much though to the UI, but maybe I'll start with a simple table of days on the x-axis, hours on the y, and cells that contain a visual encoding of the hour. This might be a simple "stoplight" red, yellow, and green, or something more exciting like Chernoff faces (via Edward Tufte). Hovering or clicking might show details.
Similar apps/sites: I was surprised that I didn't find many similar apps after a moderately-serious search. Weather Wardrobe demonstrates the basic idea for the current forecast (enter zip code, get an purpose-specific summary, how to dress appropriately in their case (e.g., "If you are in 01002, you should wear a heavy jacket over long sleeves and pants. Put on a hat and gloves.") I like it. The other is an iOS app called Windsock that's sophisticated but that is unavailable. It looks like they've nailed the concept, though.
This app may not be broadly exciting, but it'll be a fun excuse to learn Grails and maybe provide something of value to the hobby.
(Image credit: Discussing the Weather by Hartwig HKD)
