ccameselle

Ok I have a new Phoenix Extra 330s. I just finished putting it together and I want to fly it really bad. Now that said. Today the wind here in Ft lauderdale is arround 25 Mph and is a cross wind. I am an intermediate pilot with a couple of years of experience, but I have never done a maiden flight in this type of wind. Have you guys ever done a maiden flight with that kind of wind?

Thank you in advanced for your help.

CC

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Yes, I have.
Also have taught students in that kind of wind.
Beleive it or not, it forces them to use the throttle.
Best re-enforcement that I have seen for making a pilot understand what the left stick is for (mode 2)
With all that said, if you are not comfortable flying in a strong wind with a good plane that you are familure with, then there is no need to do it on a maiden flight.

flyinrain

My Feedback: (25)

I wouldn’t do a maiden flight with that high of wind even if it weren’t a crosswind. No point in risking your airplane there will be plenty of days in the future to fly it. Just stay within your comfort zone and you will be fine.

NikolayTT

Oh yes, tell me about ... I have collected lot of RC pats in a plastic bag when trying the maiden flight
in strong wind ... Better wait, OR ... there is almost always a good time-interval when you can fly even
if the wind is in average too strong the whole day. If you check the daily speed of the wind in non-stormy
weather, that is usually about 1-2 hours After-Sun-Rise and about 1-2 hours Prior Sun-Set when the wind
is at lowest (!!) speed. There is some good explanation in the Physics books why is that way. Next thing
is to check the Winds-Map of the regions around the place where you would like to fly. In general
it takes only couple miles distance and the turbulence is lot less severe. Those maps are collected by
those who plan the build-up of Airfileds, Bridges, etc - maybe you can ask in the local city office and
find the best place to fly that way. And if those things do not match for me, I usually use good old
and heavy(150g/sq.dm or more) airplane with lots of power and speed, which does not care too much
for the wind, drive it on full throtle, as it was already suggested. If that is still a bad idea for the given
weather, then I have always in the car a very good kite - that works better in the wind and never gets
broken. Thus, if you want to fly, I believe there is always a chance to fly ... something. Well, one more
idea which helped me flying: - Gyroscopes on all of the three axes. They act as "Filter" of the turbulence
and they are faster than any pilot, even a Super-Guru. GWS makes such ones, they cost about 50 USD
per piece and you can bypass them for the good weather and re-connect them when it feels too strong.
Expecially for Extra-300 I have (about 6kg) it feels I am flying extremely stable airplane in the range
of about 20 kg. Try that, it is a lot of relaxation and joy. Do not forget to set the gyros near to the
minimum sensitiviy, otherwise and aerobatic airplane will start to "oscilate" if the speed gets above
the 50-70 miles/hour. Well, I hope those three serious alternatives (timing, place and gyros) + the
fun-kite will help; would be nice to know what did you choose at the end. Good luck !
Nick

ccameselle

Thank you guys for the advice. I will be doing the maiden flight today. I will take it slow and mange my landing. All that I need is one good aproach and I am set. I will take it easy and manage my trottle to make sure that I land with out braking something.

Wish me luck

150flyer

If you have to ask, you probably shouldn't. You are relying on advise from people who have never seen you fly.

Whistling Death

Ditto............

T.W.

150flyer is "spot-on"

Tony

cruzomatic

My Feedback: (17)

Like a buddy of mine says before every maiden flight,,,,"no guts no glory"

No really, if you're asking whether or not you should go or no go, I'd no go. Never want to fly any R/C plane that you would not sit in yourself.

ccameselle

Well my non beliver friedns I not only went and did a maiden fly, but I did it with a light rain, a wet runway, a 25MPH crosswind and the best of everything a bad aileron servo. [X(] The flight was a success! The plane is very stable and it track really nice. I had to give it a couple of clicks to the right aileron and that was it. I went up with all dual rates and had to turn them down because I forgot to set up the expo and it was moving me all over the place. (I have bad finfgers ) The engine had more thatn enough power to do everything from unlimited climb to basic hover 100feet from the ground. The idle on the engine was a bit high and that helped me to land the plane. so the plane is now safe on the ground waiting for another flight. I guess after all I am a better pilot that what I am giving my self credit for.

Thank you all for your advice and support.

CC
[8D]

TideFlyer

Congrats on the maiden, particularly considering the conditions. I absolutely do not mean this as a slam, but you just might have gotten away with one, my friend! Be careful when tempting the RC gods.

ccameselle

I know all the RC goods were in my side. I pay very close attention to the sign that they send and when I got to the field it was raining. So I said to my friend lets tune the engine and we will see how the rains goes. so when we turn on the plane, one of the servos was acting funky. So I canceled the maiden, then the rain stopped so, we tuned the engine and when we were done doing that the servo started to work. I did a small stress test to the servo and it was fine so as per the indication of the RC goods I went ahead with the maiden flight. And as it was indicated before it was a great first flight.

T.W.

Call me boring if you like, but I wouldn't have risked a brand new model, radio gear and engine, plus the investment in time and effort, when it was raining, when one servo was faulty, when the wind was blowing more than I'd prefer, and when the wind was coming from the wrong direction. That you "pulled it off" probably says more about luck than anything else - and I know where I stand on luck: If it wasn't for bad I wouldn't have any at all. Hence I take no chances these days

Don't get me wrong here, I'm glad to hear that there was a happy ending for your maiden flight, but there were too many negatives and you shouldn't have flown at all. As I say: You can call me boring, I won't mind at all

Tony

ccameselle

Tony, I was hopping for some kudos for the pilot but I guess not. We will just leave it to luck

RCVFR

My Feedback: (7)

"I guess after all I am a better pilot that what I am giving my self credit for. "

It seems you have already taken care of that.