ORIGINAL: JohnW
20MPH? Tis but a gentle breeze in the Midwest. Wind is 40MPH with gusts over 60MPH on a nice sunny day... others from the plain states know what I mean. 20MPH is very flyable and even 40MPH is flyable. It actually can be great fun... hover in place in level flight at 1/2 throttle. Vertical takeoff and landings, even backward ground speed landings. Planes actually fly OK in these winds, the killer is gusts, so keep landing speeds up if wind is gusty. Those not from the Midwest... we ain't joking, it is common to fly in 20-30MPH winds because that is what mother nature gives us. I envy all those in states that have wimpy "winds."
The key in wind is a mix of low drag and high loading. Any plane that fits that mold would work well in wind, but quite honestly, high drag/light loaded planes work fine too, they are just a bit more work to fly.
I suspect that your wind is different from our "wimpy" wind. You are dead right about working with what nature gives you & difficulties with gusts are surely a common problem to both areas, but where we fly there is also extreme low-level turbulence in strong winds. We have lots of trees, plus buildings that really roil the air near the ground. At our field, a 35 MPH wind is a serious handfull without lots of experience & the right equipment.
Some of our worst wind conditions arrise with the wind straight down the runway!!