upinya

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Hi guys,

Thanks for all the help you guys give us noobs. I have a Great Planes SPECTRA SELECT On the way. This will be my first sailplane but not my first r/c plane I currently have a 3 channel electric. My question is what is the fastest wind speed I should fly this plane in it weighs about 3 pounds and has a 78" wing span but is only a three channel. Any other advise would be appreciated.

Tall Paul

Any wind you feel comfortable with... Use good judgement, if the plane is difficult to hold on to, it's too windy.
On a windy day, be prepared for an instant climb on release.
A way to get comfortable with wind is go to a slope.
2M gliders are good slopers.

soholingo

You need to fly this plane early in the day when there is little to no wind. If this is your first sailplane, you have to learn how to use the wind. And a strong wind can be overwhelming for your first few flights. The biggest gotcha for me was, seeing how much speed you picked up going down wind and how slowly you would fly going upwind. Also figuring out how to trim your sail plane is best done in no wind. Once you have this figured out, THEN fly in any wind you feel comfortable in...

In short fly in wind that is around 5mph if you can, definetly no more than 10mph. After you get good you will find that flying in gusting winds of 25 mph can be done, even though its not a lot of fun....

upinya

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Thanks guys

aeajr

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I have the Spirit, which is the unpowered version of the Spectra. I have flown in 20 MPH wind with it. It is a bit hard to manage in that much wind.

The way you deal with wind is to add weight to increase the glide speed of the plane so it can penetrate the wind better. You plane is about 17 oz heavier than mine with the same wing and fuselage, so, once you are accostumed to flying it in calmer wind, you should be able to fly it in stronger winds.

However, you may have trouble with the launch if you are launching with the motor. The plane probabably does not fly faster than 20 MPH, so in a wind of that speed you may have trouble holding your speed against the wind on the launch.

That will probably be your limiting factor.

You might try a hi-start or an up-start for an assisted launch on a very windy day. These launches actually get better with some wind.