wind speed
 

whats the limit you would fly in . I am currently flying a 60 hobbico trainer

I don't know your skill level but I would probably stop at around 25 mph with that type of airplane unless it was my beater, then I wouldn't stop at anything...:cool:

Bob

25 mph & steady is a different animal from 25 mph and shifty/gusty, especially if you have to use a runway that is cross-wind. Though with a flat-bottomed wing you can drop in with almost no roll-out. ;-)

I prefer 5 mph to no wind at all, but when it gets over 15 mph I tend to select heavier models. Keep a bit upwind of your landing zone.

25 mph is a lot of wind, especially for a trainer. The plane probably tops out at 50 mph or so, so flying in 25 mph wind will mean that the plane gets tossed around all over the plane. It will also mean that turns need lots of aileron and rudder compensation. Landings in the turbulence that is always near the ground will be dramatic as well. I flew an SPA match a couple weeks ago in 20-30 mph winds, and lots of pilots had trouble handling the turbulence from that in those fast and slippery pattern planes. I was one of only 3 real men out of 23 who didn't vote to stop flying 2 rounds early because the wind was making maneuvers hard to do.
So I'd say for a fairly new pilot flying a trainer, stick with 10 mph wind or less. If your flying site is usually more windy than that, ditch the trainer ASAP and get an Ugly Stick. That is the absolute best windy day plane ever made, and it takes off and lands just as easily as a trainer does.

jester I have a 40 ultra stick?

Wind speed is a funny thing. I have a wind gauge I often take with me to the field and when the wind comes up and the guys quit flying I have asked them how fast they thought the wind was blowing. What I found out was people really haven't any clue. They usually ground there planes at about 10mph and think it's in the 20s. Last time I did this they thought it was closer to 30mph when it was really only 17mph with gusts.
I took a student out flying an old trainer and it was blowing at a steady 20mph. He thought it was dead stick after his first turn into the wind. I had him push in some down and the plane took off again and after that he was OK. He did ask me as we were getting ready to head out why guys were pulling into the field and just watching us and not flying? That is when I finally told him about wind and how most people were afraid of it. At about 20mph that trainer is about at it's max flying into the wind.
I fly other types of planes and they aren't effected too much by wind but I don't bother going to the field when the weather report says 15 to 20mph. There is a point when it becomes more work then fun. Trainers are a hoot in the wind though but when you have to run out and catch the plane after landing to keep it from flipping over it's time to quit. I don't like running these days and ground handling becomes a problem in high wind.
I have one plane built just for really windy days and have flown it on days when no one else would take off. For most newer pilots a trainer is no longer fun at around 20mph. I fly my little electric Extra that is only 17 ounces in up to 20mph and have flown with others with even smaller and lighter electric planes but landing is a real thrill. You have to set it down right in front of you so you can catch it.
I like to fly when it is blowing from about 5 to 10mph. That wind speed really helps out on take off and landing. Calm days I have a harder time getting those smooth no bounce landings.

Anything more than ~15mph then you'd better be flying for sheep stations and not recreation.


Although when desperate for a bit of practice I have flown in conditions where I've felt the need to point my F3A ship into the wind in the pits with the tail raised the ailerons lifted up as spoilers with the starter and battery hanging over the nose just in case. When you're worried the wind and gusts will flip one of those over just sitting at the end of the landing run you know it's getting too windy.

Safety first, fun second and ego last I reckon.

Your Ultra Stick will make windy days a lot easier for you rcworld2000. If you want to make it a dedicated windy day plane, set it up as a tricycle gear plane and just a touch nose heavy. Set up a lot of rudder throw and use a prop toward the high pitch/ low diameter range. If you're using a .46 engine, a 9x7 prop is probably good although a 10x6 will give you more vertical pull.

The plane (Hobbistar 60) that rcworld2000 asked about is a "60 size" high wing trainer with a semi-symmetrical airfoil, not flat bottomed, and would likely have a 60 size 2 stroke glow and weigh RTF @ about 7.5 lbs. A common engine on this plane is an O.S. 65 LA spinning a 12-6 prop. As high wing trainers go this set up is better than most trainers in modest winds up to 15 mph or so. Not as good as some other low wing sport planes, but better than most high wing trainers. With a 71" wing span, 7-8 lbs, semi-symmetrical wing, and well powered with a .65 LA, it does much better in the wind than your run of the mill 60" flat bottom wing, 40-46 powered, 5 lb trainer. I had one as my 3rd plane and converted it to a taildragger to learn to fly that configuration. I think it was less prone to flipping over on the ground due to the wind as a taildragger than in the tri-gear configuration. Early on it was my windy day flyer but as I moved on to low wing flying it was replaced as my #1 windy plane. I still have it in the hanger, have given it a nicer looking MonoKote recovering, and it gets flown once or twice a year, usually on windy days!

your correct 52 larry
i am running a O.S. 65 LA spinning a 11 x 7 prop should i change to a 12x6 ?

Everything is getting very unpleasant by the time the wind picks up to 15 mph.

rcworld2000, As to your "should I change to a 12-6 prop" question.....maybe, maybe not. I can't remember what size I ran when it was in tri-gear configuration. Ground clearance with the 1' larger prop is the concern (1/2" less with the 1" larger prop). When I converted the Hobbystar to a taildragger I replaced the main gear with a Dubro fiberglass type that may be taller than stock so a 12" diameter prop clears just fine for me even flying off grass. Check your ground clearance and then decide if you want to try one. It's a "try it and see" choice, as an 11-7 is not a bad choice. If you have a 12-6 in your prop box and it clears well, give it a try. Happy flying:cool:

I regularly flew my Aerostar 40 (hi-wing flat-bottom trainer) with an OS 40FP (NOT a powerhouse) in 20 mph winds. Makes for sporty TOLS.

I had it up once, practicing Figure-8s, when my instructor said, "Here, let me land it." I gave him the tx and turned around. Approaching from behind was a thunderstorm with a massive wall cloud leading it. The gust front was from behind us, so the instructor landed it coming at us in the tall weeds bordering the strip. Barely had time to take the wing off and get in the car before huge raindrops pelted everything.

A cross wind of ~ 15 knots is not good for a full size single engine plane.
Our models fly a lot slower, and things start getting "interesting" after about
10miles an hour. The real problem seems to be wind gusts and turbulence.
(Landing can be very dicey

I think the OP is talking headwind, not crosswind. That's the way I took it.

Assuming the two props load the engine the same and wind up turning the same RPM in the air, the 12x6 will give you better verticals and quicker acceleration for takeoffs while the 11x7 will give you more straight line speed and better wind handling. That's the simple answer, but in the real world the matter how the engine unloads in flight will be different with the two props. One will feel like its making better use of your engine's power curve than the other, so experiment with it.

thanks all good info

Bottom line, if the wind is making you uncomfortable then stay on the ground. That being said, the only way to build skills is to practice and that includes flying in the wind. The one thing that has not been mentioned yet is airplane set up. 80% of airplanes I see at any flying site are not flight trimmed correctly. This leads to an airplane that reacts more to airspeed changes ( wind ). Once an airplane is trimmed correctly meaning the CG, thrust angles, incidences, aileron differential, throws, expo. Then it becomes much easier to fly in less then ideal conditions.

when the wind is strong enough to blow my hat off my head, that's when I stop flying!:D