chrisp32

so i have been flying some 40 size arfs on and off for about 2 years, however it tends to be very windy here on a regular basis and find that it is usually somewhat difficult to control a plane in 15-20 km/hr winds thus making it not quite as fun to constantly battle the wind. my thoughts are going from a small 4-5 pound plane like an escapade or pulse 40 to like a 10-11 lb 120 size decathlon should i expect it to be more stable and a little easier flying like i am currently thinking? and thus open up my chances to go out and fly and enjoying it more. is this thinking correct or is bigger and heavier going to work against me? any thoughts? Advise?

Chris

Charlie P.

Yes.  The disadvantages are you need more investment in the model, more expensive servos (usually), a larger starter, a larger airstrip/mowed straightaway and a way to transport a large model.

Bigger does fly better for the reasons you state.

Campgems

Chris, just my 2 cents worth, a low wing plane would be better that a high wing for runway handliing. One of my major issues when I first started flying was the high wing would tend to flip the trainer over on me when turned cross wind. I went to low wing tail draggers and that issue went away in the wind, although the 4*60 tended to weather vane into the wind when rolling out after landing with a cross wind.I pulled out an old Trainer and was flying it the last couple weeks and it picked up right where my first trainer left off some four years back.

Hopefully, Grey Beard will hop in here and give you some real advise on which planes are good windy day ones.

Don

chrisp32

wewww cause i was a little worried about the size of the wings working against me but glad to here i had a good thought. what kind of wind do youthink in you experience i could comfortably fly the a scale plane that weighs about 11 pounds?

scooterinvegas

My Feedback: (1)

If you can find a Ultra Stick 60 at one of your LHS, give that a try. They seem to fly great in the wind. A larger, heavier model with more wing loading should help to. (can you say "War-bird") LOL Scoot

Charlie P.

Hard to say.  I know guys who cannot fly very comfortably in any wind (or even when it is calm) and others who are fearless and very skilled that fly very well with .40 size models in 20 mph winds.  Depends on model selection (symmetrical wing & heavy loading), skill level and whether the wind is steady or gusting and changable in heading.  As a rule of thumb: faster models are less effected by wind.

RCVFR

My Feedback: (7)

If I am reading you correctly, you are saying 15-20 kilometers/hr? That is 9 -12 mph. That is not a lot of wind, more like the daily minimum requirement.

Flying in wind can be a lot of fun; the landing part can get interesting, but it, too is an acquired skill. Sure, a light plane is more responsive to wind. The real issue with wind is gusting and wind shear. A steady wind can be a joy to play in. My all time favorite wind plane is/was the Twist 40. Alas, I sold it. As to plane type for wind, a mid or low wing gives a bit better control, especially in ground handling.

Have fun in the wind.

oldvet70

My Feedback: (10)

This is my 96" Wingspan Turbo Porter. It weighs 10lbs and it has a OS 1.20 AX engine with APC 16X10 prop. I flew it today for the first time in 8-10 mph winds. The wind had so little effect I hardly noticed it. I think you find a 10-11 lb 120 size Decathlona pleasant experience.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Here in Oklahoma a 10-15 mph wind is a normal flying day for us!!! It's all in what you learn to fly in. I regularly fly my 40 size planes in this amount of wind, and sometimes I will even fly my park flyers in that much wind.

Bigger planes do handle the wind better, but you can learn to safely fly smaller planes in that much wind as well.

Ken

forestroke

all things equal, i think heavier is more important than bigger. if you weighed down your pulse or escapade, it'll be much more stable in the air but of course will not be as easy to fly. in my experience the wing loading is the most important element. as charlie mentioned, the faster your specific model flies, the less it will be affected by the wind. the other aspect is the drag. if you have a plane with huge amount of drag (biplane, trainer) it tends to be thrown around in the wind. if you have a pattern plane that is both fast and slippery, it will cut through the wind easily. i use to fly a WM Zen 50 on the windy, gusty days without any issue. where others would be grounded, i'd be flying pretty much normal. i'd set the CG a bit forward to help keep the speed up when landing and do a roll out landing rather than a more gentle flare. the worst part is after landing, getting her turned around was tough! for that i'd probably recommend not having a tail dragger.

in short, get a pattern plane that is not a tail dragger or... this plane: the impluse 90. i'm sure airborne sells it.

http://www.theworldmodels.com/para/p...airplaneid=158

i'm sure it'll be a great plane for those windy days.

hllywdb

Got to go with the pattern plane route. It is not as much size, weight or wing loading as you would think. I have found that airfoil and plane design have more to do with it than size. I have a 25 size pattern plane, old school tapered LE, with a very thin airfoil that I routinely fly when all the giant scale planes are being put up at the field. It flys better in the wind than my larger, newer style pattern planes. I also have 1/2A planes patterned after old pattern planes that I think nothing of flying in a 20mph wind. Thin airfoil, swept leading edge, clean lines with enough motor and the wind becomes a non issue. Unless you get it too light. But any wing loading over 20 is fine.

jester_s1

Second on the Ultra Stick .60. The ultra (flaps) part isn't important, but the plane is slippery enough that the wind doesn't toss it around much. I was flying in some whippy 15 mph wind one day and having a relaxing time of it with the Ultra Stick, then switched to a .40 Cub and about lost it! I couldn't believe the difference. I hadn't even noticed the wind much with the stick, but the Cub was all over the place.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

This is more the answer then the weight. My high wind plane was the 60 size Kaos. It wasn't a light weight compared to an ARF of the same size or weight plane but it wasn't a rock either. It was the design of the plane. Not that we get high winds here but I have flown in wind that was tough to walk in. Not something I made a plan to do either. I don't mind the wind but after about 15 it becomes more work then fun. This is real wind speed, not what people think it is. My Extras are great wind planes but they will get kicked around a bit, I like the old pattern type of planes when it really gets nuts and the sand is pitting the windsheild of the car.
Chris, if you fly ARFs and already have the gear for 40 size planes I would buy one of the Great Planes 40 size Kaos and see how you like that. It doesn't cost an arm and leg and all the Kaos planes fly about the same, no mater what the size. With trike gear it's very easy to take off and land too. Handles wind like it was designed for it, well, most pattern planes were designed for all weather. There are more modern designs but the next person I meet that doesn't like flying a Kaos will be the first.
Wind in Vegas???? I think not!!!![8D]

rgm762

My Feedback: (4)

chrisp32
I flew my first "big" plane last week, a Great Planes 120 size PT 17 Stearman weighing 15lbs, what a difference, flies so much smoother and easier than any of my 40 size, either high or low wing, and we fly in the same winds as RCKen does, 10-15 mph is normal

opjose

Exactly though even a loaded Pulse or Escapade is not great at cutting 20mph winds, as I've flown both in such winds.

My all time favorite "high wind" plane is the Great Planes Big Stick 60.

I've installed 3800mAh NiCd 6V packs in it just aft of the wing, and I'm flying with a SuperTigre .75 engine in it.

The only reason I MAY stop flying is that the winds are sooo high that the plane simply cannot stay on the ground at all... at this point the wind is high enough to be blowing stuff out of my tool box too!

The plane is wonderful in higher winds, and I can keep it aloft for 30 minutes or more due to the added lift of the winds.

RCER88

My Feedback: (25)

My wind planes are a SIG Kougar and SIG King Kobra. 40 and 60 size planes. These are NOT ARF's. They are tough, durable and can handle the wind. I have two Kougars one electric and one with a 45 Rossi I won't hesitate to put them up in the wind. I also have a small old style pattern plane called the GNAT converted to electric it flies good in the wind too. It has less than a 40 inch wingspan and weights less than 2 lbs with battery.

The people saying lean more toward pattern style are correct they will be more stable in most conditions. They penetrate the wind well. Most are trike gear which gives them better ground handling in the wind too.

A decathalon in a firm wind might act like a kite depending on the airfoil. The Kaos 40 as suggested earlier might be a decent choice if you are an arf'r.

Charlie P.

I guess my wind fighter is my Contender 60 (though my Giant Super Sportster can handle anything I'm apt to fly in).

Narrow wingspan, no dihedral, symmetrical airfoil, relatively small vertical stab, plenty of power. Trike gear does make landings easier but Idon't care for it on any model on a roughgrass field as it can make take-offs rough.

flygilmore

The Stingers are great windy day planes....pref. the 1.20 80" size and the bigger 84" Giant. My field always has wind so I don't even factor than in my decision to fly.

Jim_Purcha

My Feedback: (8)

It's been a real windy summer here is Manitoba also. We can counton one hand the number of days when it was calm. Most days we're flying in 20+ Km/hr winds. Not enjoyable, but great experience.

Jim

hsukaria

Another choice for a 40 size plane is maybe unconventional, but the Great Planes Viper (Quickie) is very sleek and fast, but can fly slow as well. It is my windiest condition airplane.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Just for fun today I pulled up the weather bug for my fields area. The wind is only 12-16 mph but the gusts are from 32-45. That was a live feed and I could watch the gusts hit the gauge. It's also fun to watch it change directions. Anyone that wants to fly today please feel free. This little breeze is supposed to get strong later today. Wind speed is only one part of it, you must have an idea of your local area and the gusts with changing directions. I don't mind at all making the drive {27 miles} when it says 5-10 knowing it's going to be more like 15 but I look at the forecasted gust conditions. At 15 MPH on a dry lake bed you can't find a lee side of a van to take your planes apart to get back into the van. Flying the plane is only one part of your day. Usually here it will be 10-15 in the afternoon so morning flying is great. The wind just hits us all at one time and it seems I'm the poor snook that just took off and I'm in the middle of a fresh dust storm. If it's not going to be gusty then I have been known to fly in the high 20s without any problem. I also trust my engines very well, sometimes a dead stick can be a problem if you are having 40 or 50 MPH gusts. My 60 size Kaos just never seemed to care but my 60 size CG Extra has been known to hover on the flare, for a very long time!!! Blue Jay sells most of the Bridi designed kits and the prices are right. Tower sells the grandson of Kaos, the Ultra Sport, another good choice. When kit building i never worry about weight, I build pretty much to the plans/instructions and let the weight take care of itself. There are tons of good choices for high wind flying planes still in kit form. I just finished the Dirty Birdy {un-flown yet} and it is the replacement to my Kaos, I'm sure it will be my new high wind go to plane. I even have a plans built Daddy Rabbit that doesn't react to the wind at all. Pattern planes one and all.

forestroke

graybeards post reminded me of one other thing... make sure you have enough power. my avatar is my first WM Cub 26. i sold it upon leaving hong kong. i loved that little plane and flew it more than any of my other planes. the guy i sold it to took it up on his maiden flight of the plane and lost it. he said the wind was just too great and that the engine wasn't tuned properly so there just wasn't enough power to get her back to the field. he lost it in the stretch of water just past where we fly. the plane had an O.S. 30 Surpass on it. Not the most powerful of engines for a plane that has so much drag. needless to say he was way off line to ask for a refund even if it was full knowing he wouldn't get one! that plane was in great shape, built with care and flown with love. but a little bit of wind and it was literally in the drink.

chrisp32

so as far as anyone can see in do you think the decathlon in the link would be a good pick? http://www.greathobbies.com/producti...rod_id=SEA2125
i am looking for an easy flyer which i am sure this would be and from the general consences it is heavy enough to stand the 15-20 mphr winds or would this one be better even though i would have to build it and it would be my first kit build? http://www.greathobbies.com/productinfo/?prod_id=BUS451 hmmm what to do what to do?

Charlie P.

I'd go with the BUSA Citabria.  But that is a kit and the Seagull Decathlon is an ARF.

forestroke

and both are not going to get you a very good plane in the wind. both planes are prone to ground looping and weathervaning. but if that's the kind of plane you want, no one will stop you. just that after all that's said in this thread, it's hard to imagine these are the two planes that you've come up with!