(Yes, I'm bored and want to go fly!)

Just curious what windspeed to too much??

I'm curious more for the trainer/relativly new to flying crowd..... as I'm sure there are several flyers that would continue to fly even if a movie crew was at your field making a film called Twister!

but for the newer flyers still flying trainers.... what windspeed will you fly up to?

About 20 Mph steady winds.. 10-15 gusty..

If I'm able to launch into the wind then 25mph is the ultimate max for me with a trainer and a .40 size or larger engine.......that doesn't mean that flying at the windspeed is going to be as fun as during calmer days, however I find myself needing a flying fix and can't wait for calmer days.

I've "flown in place" several times with a PT 40.
I usually don't fly if it's an ordeal to get the plane out to the starting area.

Get a heavy chain, just long enough to reach from the ground to the tail of your wind sock.
When the chain is blowing parallel to the horizon, then its too windy!!![sm=lol.gif]

Here in North Central Indiana. If you don't learn how to fly in the wind, you usually don't fly. It could be calm at home and when I get out to the field, 10-15 and gusty, or worse. When my dad test flew his 4 Star 40, our wind gauge at the field said about 25 steady, gusts to about 35. This is about my max. I grab my trusty old LT 40 and fly backwards. We have several people in our club that will not fly in any kind of wind. I myself have a hard time flying when there is no wind.

I was just at our field today and was flying in 15 - 25 winds.. My 4* .40 was a champ and did very well...

We have that same saying here in Texas.. If you dont like to fly in the wind you are not going to do much flying!!

You would not catch me putting anyting nice up when the wind is up.. But my 4* is well suited for that kind of flying.

Mike

10 knots grounds the beginners.

15 knots grounds the ARFs (well, the new ones anyway).

20 knots keeps the cautious down.

At 25 knots my cap won't stay on, so I say bugger this, and go sloping instead.

Depends on the plane and my mood. How badly do I want to fly!

Most of my parkflyers come down at 10 mph
Aerobird goes to about 15 mph if I really want to fly.

Sailplanes go to about 15 if I really want to fly, but finding and holding a thermal at that speed is hard.

Slope planes are just getting warmed up at 10 mph. 20 MPH is great! At 30 MPH the lift is great but my skills are being challenged with my current ZAGI 3C. However, at 30 MPH the lift is so strong I can almost jump on and ride!!!!!

It seems to be the 'type' of wind that grounds me at our local park. I've been caught out twice now, the trees don't seem to be moving and there certainly is very little wind at ground level but at 50 feet or so....crikey! Each time as soon as I hit that certain level the plane would immediately gain height, loop over and come back down quickly, trying to regain control would see it blown back another 100 yards or so until it reached the tree line. Lost one plane in the woods (never found it again) and the second I retrieved from a tree!

Depends on the plane I want to fly.

4* 40, Twist and Somethin Extra = 15mph, crosswind doesn't matter.

The Twist and SSE do not want to land in winds much higher than 15mph plus I can stop them in mid air with throttle management, looks cool but in a gust, big pucker factor.

The 4* just slices right through. Up high it gets kicked around a bit but landings with a side slip are a breeze if you mix out the pitch coupling

CG Ultimate = 20mph without much of a crosswind. Reason is a BIG rudder. The thing wants to weather-vane big time in a 90 degree crosswind. Taxi is a trick in a 90 degree as it takes all of the rudder at 20mph just to keep it straight and that's on high rates.

Extra 300S = 20mph crosswind doesn't matter

difficult to put a hard number on it. Whats your experience and what plane? I have flown in up to 45 knots steady wind. Makes it fun. I wouldn't suggest it for a low timer though. Some must quit in a breeze depending on the plane. You have to start with low wind and work up till you are comfortable, and then different pressure systems cause different turbulence for you to deal with. Its all good. Learn it and you will be a lot better pilot. Dont' bite off more than you can chew to start though

Yeah, I understand the feeling, wish I was at the field right now (it could be midnight and I'd wish I was at the field).

As far as how windy is too windy? Depends on which plane I want to fly. It's not too windy for my trainer until I line up for takeoff , apply power, and take off backwards. My Rascal 40 is ok until I can hover it off the ground, and my L-4 I won't fly until it is dead calm (too much time building it ---emotional baggage blah, blah. No, really , about 10 kts is all I like. After that it's more work than fun.

When airplanes start flying out of their cradles before the wings are on, I generally call it quits.

When a trike gear plane does a ground loop taxing, that's too much.

When I do an engine runup with the plane tethered, and the mains come off the ground, that's it.

Otherwise, it's generally whatever I feel comfortable with. If it's no fun, then I quit.

Andy

Love the responses.... as I am new to the sport.... I need it a little more calm.....

but it is coming along!

Hmmm... now...where can I find port and starboard lights and landing lights.....

Days are getting shorter...need to put lights on my Kadet soon!

For beginners in high-wing trainers, the limit is probably reached when the planes blow over while taxiing. For experienced wind fliers, the sky is the limit, depending upon what you fly & where you fly it. Personally, I love vertical take-offs & landings, plus flying backward, but I'm carefull what models I expose to stuff like that.

Here in West Texas if you can't fly in the wind, you just don't fly................MIke

I agree, it depends on what you fly. I fly my Super Star Trainer and Four Star 60 up to 10-12 MPH, I fly my Funtana S 90 and Stick up to 20 MPH. My Fat Free Taco has even been flown up to 30-35 MPH. That is about the limit that I fly in. After 35 MPH, the wind just becomes to violent for any aircraft. I'm sure I could possibly go higher, but my comfort level goes down after that speed. Usually, it is already gusting badly when it gets to 25 MPH. At my field (which is on top of a hill by the way), If you can't fly in wind, then you don't get to fly here also. I'm in Jackson, Mississippi. Most calm days at the field have a slight breeze, so if we get a completely calm day. You better utilize that day to the fullest.

Too much, is what you do not feel comfortable flying in:-) As you have read,
in some parts of the country if you do not learn to fly in wind, You'll fly very
little.. I have flown my 4* in up to 20mph with not much problems.. Well that's
as long as the wind lets me land on my favorite side of the runway.. But for
now I really do not like flying in winds higher than 10+mph.. But I'm working
on that along with liking both sides of the runway..

I fly a J-3, Cessna 182 and a trainer/sport.

Wind down the runway is up to 15 MPH. Cross wind is about 10 MPH for the J-3, 15 MPH for the others.


Paul

Same thing in Oklahoma, if you don't fly in wind, you won't fly much. Our field is at the lake. When it is calm in town, going out to the field usually finds a breeze coming off the water. I tried my Sig Kadet Sr in about 20 - 25 MPH wind once and had to shoot the landing 5 times before I got it on the ground safely. A Sr. flyer (the best pilot in our club) was there with me coaching me through it, without him, I probably would have trashed the plane. Now I'm flying fully symmetrical wing stick, so it takes the wind quite a bit better. Flew in 20 MPH wind last Sunday no problems...

Here's the method I use, it should be adaptable to everyone, especially when the wind is right down the center of the runway because "Two Mistakes High" is relative to your skill as a pilot and your plane:

1. Take off and fly into the wind about two mistakes high.
2. Pull up and do a hammerhead at the upwind end of the runway with the vertical leg about 75' high, keeping the wings perpendicular to the wind.
3. If the aircraft is blown more than halfway back down the runway before you have to pull out on the down leg, it's a little dicey up there and I'll consider cutting the flight short. If the plane gets blown more than 3/4's the length of the runway, it's time to land.



Exeter,

Radio Shack has LED's and micro-switches much cheaper than any LHS or on-line RC store than I've seen...

Ed

Wind? What wind?

Not long ago I was flying a Stryker and a Ultimate Foamy in well over 25MPH (Windsock is 25MPH and it was stiff straight out.)

exeter_acres....If you come up with plan for putting lights on your plane let me know ....beleive me Im thinking the same way you are. .