The wind is your friend with a Twist, with any bird, actually. Everything slows down but take-offs and down wind legs. Just watch fuel consumption.

I saw Down put his Twist on the snow, running out on his skis just six inches. I couldn't believe it at the time. Since then I've done the same.

The Twist cares NOTHING about the wind, just about what speed the wind is going over the control surfaces. So beware of downwind turns while low to the ground at low throttle.

Brings up a good point: when you go to a new field, you look for all the trouble areas--where you don't want to screw up, trees, wires, rough land, under power or not; when the wind is high you IMMEDIATELY reckon what you'll do with a flame-out, just in case. If you don't let anything surprise you, you're safe. Think, think, then think again. And plan ahead. Fly upwind high and downwind higher, over 20 mph gusts. Then you'll always be able to get back to the field--and learn how to lose altitude fast. Dive, put the wing on an edge, do a loop, dead stick. If you know your Twist, everything becomes easy. And getting back to the field is the same. [Flying gliders really helps in this regard. You're always dead stick.]

How many of us have killed the engine on purpose, just to practice a dead stick landing? I have. Confidence helps. And, truly, a dead stick landing can be easy. It's the panic that gets us into trouble. Don't do that. I don't know why folks panic with a dead stick landing. You're gonna come down. How and where are the only questions. What's the problem? Get her into the wind and bring 'er home--or learn downwind landings, cross-wind landings... practice, practice, practice.

There is nothing that defines the pilot,-plane-wind relationship than when things go wrong, from flame-outs to putting your bird up with reversed ailerons. By golly, I'm drunk enough to consider putting the old, OLD Katana up with reversed ailerons--just for the challenge. I'll do that in low winds. :-)

But I can think of nothing more delightful than hovering across the sky, at 30 mph, sideways, in the wind. And when, down wind, going like a bat, you pull up, turn her into the wind and she STOPS dead, it's also a pleasure to watch, a special, graceful turn.

Ah. the wind, the pilot, and the Twist--that's what RC is all about.