Hi CGRetired
Good report and nice photos. Yesterday was our annual Chili Fly-In. We had a surprisingly very large turnout. A lot of people we had never seen came out to see model airplanes fly. The wind was terrible. The direction kept changing, and the gust were from zero to about 30MPH. I only had my SPAD Biplane with me
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8007330/tm.htm Every time I parked it on the ground I placed it against the leg of one of our many benches or tables to keep it from blowing away. Once in the air my plane was OK but the take-offs were very tricky. The lower wing is very close to the ground so the wing tips will touch the ground in crosswinds. With the wind direction constantly changing I let the plane go in what ever direction it wanted. Had to abort more than a few times. As usual, the landings were the real challenge. I usually landed more like a bird than a plane. Hardly any roll out since the ground speeds were low to near zero. Only once in about 8 landings did the engine stop due to a prop ground strike. Since few people were flying I was forced to be up more that usual. The SPAD plane is the perfect plane for that type of day.