With unpredictable mid-winter weather likely to be a key factor in next month's planned America's Cup in Spain, Swiss defender Alinghi has employed a novel way of monitoring the conditions.

The team this week began using small hydroplanes to monitor wind speeds, something it hopes will give it a technological advantage over bitter US rivals Oracle in their scheduled showdown to decide the 33rd edition of yachting's most prestigious event.

"The idea is that we can measure the wind speed at any height we like," said Alinghi's chief weather man, Jon Bilger.

"With a boat we're stuck at six metres but the planes can go to the height of the mast which is the equivalent of a 17-storey building."

The two Australian-built aircraft, which resemble jet skis with small wings attached, could be crucial if the next America's Cup goes ahead on schedule in the Spanish port of Valencia from February 8.

Doubts have been raised about staging the event in the Mediterranean in mid-winter, when rough winds and heavy seas could provide extreme conditions for the crews of the two massive and fast yachts.

Oracle's trimaran and Alinghi's giant catamaran both arrived in Valencia this month to begin training. Bilger explained that the last America's Cup in Valencia was staged in a race area of nine square miles.

"We have now an area of 450 square miles to cover, so we need some different equipment to do that effectively," he said.

Meanwhile, continued legal wrangling between the two teams continues to threaten the event.

Oracle last month launched a legal challenge that charged Alinghi's boat fails to meet the competition's nationality rules.

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