I'm flying solo already but still very carefull on the windy condictions.
I went yesterday and the day before to the field and couldn't fly because the wind, which I considered too strong.
I checked in the weather.com after coming back home and it was 8mph(12Kmh) gust of 15mph(24Kmh).
I spend 1 hour or so tunning my engine and waiting the wind comes down and what scared me was exactly the gust, which was blowing my trainner wing away and was giving me the feeling "if this happen right when I'm landing, I'm dead".
I also saw other guy that looked as veteran coming to the field, spending couple minutes and backing up.


Am I right or the wind speed ranges above not really affect much the fight and landing safety for a beginner?
By the way, I was the only one in the field , beginner entusiasm[&:], under 40F and windy![X(]

Nilo

Wind is purely personal preference and experience. I've flown .15 powered combat in winds that were clocked at the local airport as gusting over 45mph (about 72kmh?). But that was a specific case of a contest with airplanes that can handle it and experienced pilots. You won't see me fly in that wind with my Cap or a trainer.

I have trained students on a buddy box in winds that were rather strong though. I took the students up high and had them practice slow flight handling by parking their airplanes in one spot over the field, or even getting them to move backwards slightly. (and, wouldn't you know it, the guys who did this started landing better when they were out later in better conditions to actually try to land). I'd say the wind was in the 15-20mph range. But I also didn't let any of them near the ground in those conditions, even students who had landed a few times before. The turbulance close to the ground made it hard enough on me to land.

Wind, IMHO is like any other situation. It's a judgement call. Part of learning to fly is learning what you are comfortable with, and learning to apply good judgement. There is something to be said for being careful.

I have flown in winds up to about 20mph, but that is when the direction is right down the runway. Cross winds speeds can be much less and still present a problem for new flyers. There is really no set speed that comes to mind, if you are hesitant, then it's for a reason. If you fly when you are comfortable, it makes it much easier on yourself and as you gain experience, you will find that you get more and more comfortable with the wind as your flight time increases.

Agree with Montague,lot depends on the plane ,skill level and fear factor,trainer is fun to fly in 15 +mph winds but high risk of damage on landings,larger more trim plane can handle winds in the 15 to 25 mph, gets to be a bear to land if cross wind and gusting winds. Couple of years back was flying at a big bird event by a lake,the field was by the dam, and the winds were close to 30 mph,on landing the winds would pull the plane down at about 12 'above the runway,talk about pucker factor! Think the first couple hours we saw over 7 crashes and lots of planes with out landing gear. Here in the Dallas area a calm day is between 8 and 15 mph winds.[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]AND today I'm on this web and buildiing another plane because the weather is 70 degrees and wind gust over 40 mph[&o]

As a beginner, you should shoot for the least wind you can get. I know you are excited to fly, but as you get more experience, you can fly in more wind. Right now, more wind will generally cause you to loose control quicker. Wait for a good day. I know it sux, but it will save the plane.

Here in central TX, if you can't fly in 20 mph wind, you don't fly much at all.

Wind is scary till you learn to deal with it. Once you learn to deal with it... as long as the wind is les than the stall speed of the plane you can fly.

I sometimes fly in wind that is almost the cruise speed of the plane... Its interresting when I have to hold 1/3 throttle and down elevator to stop the plane on the runway. [:-]

I've recently learnt to make wind my friend, a good strong STEADY breeze is a hoot to fly in and if it's strong enough (say 20mph+) you can practice zero fwd movement and even with some throttle jockying go backwards, also with planes that suffer from low speed tip stall it helps whith slower landings.

if the wind is Gusty its still great to fly in but the take off and landings can be a bit hard on the nerves.

When I was in your shoes I got so I could fly in the wind pretty well. On gusty days, I would take off and land between gusts. When you are in the air, the wind is not much of a problem. Taking off is also not so bad as long as it is not a cross wind. So, I would take off and fly around a while and then when I detected a lull in the wind, I would quickyl land and refuel. I only got stuck once where I had to have a more experienced pilot land for me. If there is someone at the field that can back you up if you need help on the landing, that is alway helpful.

In Colorado it is often windy. I would say if you feel uncomfortable be patient and wait for a better day. However, there will come a time when it is calm when you take off and gets windy while you're flying. I'm still pretty new to all this, but in the case where the windspeed is greater than I am really 100% comfortable with I take the time to make a couple of passes along the runway to get a feel for how the plane is affected. I then find that I can shoot the real approach with more confidence.

The more you fly the more comfortable you will become. Also, once you get proficient at using the rudder to keep the nose straight you'll be able to handle crosswinds, which are the most intimidating.

Flying with a lot of wind rocks, but students have a lot of trouble with it. I can remember a time when I hated flying in wind. You don't need it when you are learning. You have time for it later.

Flying in the wind is a decision that you have to make. But that's when you really learn to fly. After you have soloed you should try and fly in the wind as often as possible. Yes it will be rough on your nerves and you trainer, but your flying skills should improve over time. Some of the guys stated that they fly in breezy conditions most of the time. Well I have flown models in many different parts of the country and can attest to the fact that in some areas you won't fly at all if you expect the wind to die down to a certian level.
As a beginer try to fly mostly when the wind is pretty much down the runway. And your skill and confidence builds you can be the judge of when you can and will fly.
Good luck and have fun !!! [&:]

I forced myself to start flying on windy days. I don't like it but I think it is necessary to learn this skill. I can't tell you the wind speed but just that From the runway threshold to touch down, the plane can blow 60 feet. I learned quickly to use rudder on approaches.

Greetings nilo:

A good measure to see if there is too much wind is to assemble your airplane in the pit area and set it down on the ground in the pit area and put the nose pointing into the wind.

If your airplane is not blown over and you have the confidence and pratice under your belt it's time to learn how the wind can be our friend.

Flying our planes is a balancing act and we have to manipulate the winds conditions to assist our landings.

If we know before take off that our engine will remain running and we pratice at different wind speeds we can fly.

The wind is our planes pillow and the engine is what we use to put the airplane where we want it.

I've flown in 30+mph winds with a 40-size 3D/funflier (thick airfoil!!). It can be a blast, harrier into the wind and fly backwards...

The first thing I learned from my instructor was "The plane doesn't know it's windy...only the pilot"

Depending on where you live, you have to learn to deal with it. Gusty wind SUCKS. Steady wind is great, if you relax about it. Don't get locked into a runway only mentality, it's OK to pick whatever direction your plane wants to assume and do the landing directly into the wind. Your plane won't roll very far if you stray of the beaten path. Crosswind landings are something that need to be worked on with the local instructor, pick a guy who can demonstrate his ability to show you how.

On my first flying day,

I was determined to get my glider in the air on the high lift. The wind was 20Kph and a little gusty, which I thought would reduce my chance of a successful flight but i couldn't wait to fly any longer to get my plane in the air. The only person available to instruct used mode 1 and not mode 2 like myself. Anyway I hooked up my plane and stretched the cord and up she went. It all looked great until I was unhooked from the high lift and I was losing control pretty fast. Eventually I asked the mode 1 flyer to take control (no buddy system) but he couldn't bring the plane back to the oval and it was heading off downwind at a rate of knots. Eventually the plane crossed the road flying at approximately 50 metres, hit a tree, spun around and landed with minor damage.

In retrospect i should never have flown, I just wasn't able to handle the unexpected which I realised at the time as soon as the high lift disconnected. Over the next few months I had many successful flights but even at the end of years of flying I would still be extra cautious on windy days and watch the trees or whatever would blow in the wind to evaluate the conditions before I launched my glider or started my glo engines.

Well thats my windy day story as a first day beginner.

Langfire

I second this. If the wind is gusty, then when you're landing, your plane can drop out of the sky like a rock if the wind stops suddenly.

But... a good steady wind is great - especially with a light airplane. I've had two airplanes that were so light I could fly them backwards (relative to the ground) because the wind speed was above the flying speed of the aircraft. All planes care about is how much air is going over them - ground speed is irrelevent.

man... I really hate agreeing with CombatPigg.

As a rule of thumb, if a taxing model gets blown or lifted from the main wheels when on crosswind its too windy.

I don't agree Cappio,
I've flown when the cross wind was strong enough to flip the plane by getting under a wing. You do need to use ailerons to hold the upwind wing down, just as you use elevator to hold the tail on the ground. It can also take a LOT of rudder to get off the ground, and more to land it, but it can be a lot of fun. Gets the blood pumping!

CafeenMan,
Dropping like a rock. Yep.
Had my Sportster biplane out on one of those days. Probably 20 gusting to 30, and had aborted a couple of landing attempts. I knew my fuel was getting really low and this approach looked real good. Steady 15 to 20 down the runway, plane was about 3 feet off the ground when the wind just stopped. It was like the hand of God himself slapped that thing to the ground. No substantial damage, but it ripped the gear out.

You can't BUY fun like that!
Dennis-

Dennis, I am not saying that it cant be done, I have seen guys fly R/c models on days that would ground even a general aviation aircraft. But this section of the forum is called BEGINNERS and the idea is to give the newbies good advice so they dont loose their aircraft. What you, me or anyone else that has been flying for many years can do is irrelevant since we have acquired that skill already. Otherwise lets tell the newcomers to invest on a BVM Bandit and fly it at 150 mph since a lot of us can do it.

Dennis said:
let's see, glue, maybe some new wood, a bit of covering, and a few hours of repair time? Maybe $20 in parts/supplies plus labor? I'd say you DID just buy fun like that.

Again yesterday in the field. Here in Seattle, yesterday was the only sunny day forecasted for the whole week!
I got to the field in the afternoom and the weather was great (for Seattle winter time) and the guys were arriving in the field like flies in the Sh.....t.
The wind was calm and I moved fast to assemble my trainner and take off as soon as possible.
Took off and was making circles, a bit high. The wind in the ground started to be a little stronger, but not too bad.
I started seeing my plane up there doing something that I have never seem before, like the ailerons acting by itself and also the rudder. I started thinking about some interference in my channel and decided to land before it gets worst.
Again, landed a bit hard and about 1 minute after landing, the wind changed sundenly from, let say 10mph to 30mph. A friend that was landing right at this time had his plane flipped over like a leave and was very luck to have altitude enought to take control and land.
We were then standing under the sun, no rain, but unable to fly under the strong and gusty wind. That really su...ck and the weird behavior I saw on my trainner propably was the wind to strong and gusty up there. Agrees?

Nilo

I agreee w/ Cappio777, Give him the advice he needs as a beginner, not someone who has been flying for a while.

Try not to fly in anything above 15, until you get used to the wind, just as a general rule.

Dont listen to people who say "Ive flown in 40 knot wind and you can too!" cause they arent going to fix your plane!

nilo: Don't get frustrated with the great days that have too much wind. We all have had times were we loaded up thinking about flying, getting to the field, and the plane never leaves vehicle. It's hard to take, but you will get there. If you think it is too windy, then it probably is for you. Don't worry about others, I have spent a lot of time not flying, but just watching others and trying to learn how they manage it. Take it from me there are those that probably should have said it is too windy as well. You are not alone, we all had to learn how to fly in these conditions.

I think if God Himself slapped your model to the ground, you wouldn't have even the tinyest pieces left