ORIGINAL: RVman
i'm still skeptical with some of these wind claims. Gusts to 40+ mph for example is extreme for a sport plane. A speed plane that is fast and clean might be able to handle it but you would need 1/2 throttle on a slower sport plane to keep it moving forwards. Thats not to mention any turbulence and such. But everywhere I've flown we have hills, trees, etc that cause shifty and bumpy winds...not many here fly in more than 10-15 mph.
And that's probably why some claims seem unrealistic.
There are 3 clubs in my area. At one of them, it'll be almost deserted when that 10-15mph hits. Higher than that and nobody there for sure. It has trees about 40' from one side of the strip, about 150' from one end, about 80' along the other side and a clearing off the other end. Nobody there flying, that is. It's a club, after all.
My favorite of the 3 has no trees or anything other than the shelters within about 300 ft and that's only in a couple of directions. And the strip sits on the top of a gentle hill that drops away in every direction. So the trees in the distance grow from lower ground. (They still eat a model every so often, as you'd expect.) It's really no problem there most windy days when the wind isn't coming over the shelters as long as the wind's speeds are less than your airplane's.