At what point do you guys leave the planes at home and dig out the kites?

I've flown in 20 MPH winds , but it really depends how good you can fly !

In general anything under 15 is no big deal. I've had my 40 size planes out in 25-30 & it gets pretty hairy on landings.
I think it also depends on how much the wind is gusting. For example if it's steady 20 MPH winds your landings will still be smooth at a walking pace, whereas if it's gusting you'll have almost no ground speed so if the wind dies down you'll stall.

I think it depends a lot on the size of your plane as well. If you've got a 50% then it will obviously handle a lot more wind than a small trainer.

these guys are right, it depends on your ability and plane, the only thing i suggest is that you have a bird-dog(thats what i call my brother in law) to get the plane as soon as possible so it dont get away from ya after landing

For me it depends upon the model I plan to fly. Some of the faster models that are still forgiving don't mind the wind so much, but the warbirds are too precious to risk in a wind (really don't fancy the wind suddenly dropping when I was depending on 10-15mph from it on approach) and the sunday flyers have too high a gust response and it makes flying no fun.

In general, I usually draw the line at about 15-20mph if it's steady and 10mph if it's not. I have flown in stronger winds, but to my mind at least, it's no fun. Sometimes I will fly if I have a model that can hack it, if I arrive at the field and it's stronger than expected.

When I'm with a learner (and in fact when I was learning) I'd prefer to keep it to a steady 10-15mph or less if possible.

For me, the primary concern is the airspeed when low & slow as I noted above, but for begineers especially, a strong wind is quite unhelpful for circuits too, as the upwind takes forever and the downwind leg takes seconds. A strong wind will carry a model a long way in a short time which adds to the workload of any pilot, but for a beginner it's possibly one thing too many???

In winter time, when there's no leaves on the trees, I only go flying if the branches aren't really moving. In summer it's harder, but I don't really want to see much more than the leaves rustling. The branches will move at slower wind speeds with leaves on, but you don't want to see the overall "tree" swaying. Just my rule-of-thumb windsock when looking out the window wondering

depend on your comfort level and the model. I'm usualy more worried about gusty winds than wind. I've flown in constant 35 mph winds, kinda fun landing backwards, if it's really gusty 10 mph differance I usualy won't fly over 20 MPH. My slope soarers I've flown in 45 MPH winds gusting to 50. I needed 5 lbs of ballast to keep it on the hill and still needed full spoilers to get it down

A lot of it depends on what's normal for where you fly. Here in Oklahoma (yes, the wind really does come sweeping down the plains) we're used to flying in the wind. A normal day for us is 10-20 mph. 20+ is getting windy. and 25-30 is pack it in. I've flown in wind up to 40 before.

Then funny things is when we have a windless day here. None of us can land worth a darn. We're so used to having wind to slow down our planes that when there isn't any wind we are always overshooting the runway!!

Ken

LOL Ken,

Our field typically gets 10-20 MPH winds by 11:30-12:00 every day. I can go to the field any weekday after 1pm and have the place to myself. (Our club has over 200 members). I, being a newbie, have learned to like the wind a bit. It's kinda fun to stop in mid-air and bring it down vertically. We have members from Hawaii and the UK who learned to fly in the wind. They both can fly a foamie in 25 mph+ winds......and do it well. The winds have helped me a lot with throttle-management and how not to over-control...especially ailerons. I still run away from really gusty crosswinds though.....and anything that brings flying debris.

I'm pretty much in the same boat. I started flying this winter & was so obsessed with getting as much air time in as I could it seemed as though I was always flying on very windy days & by myself. I also like slow flying backwards.

Ken, I know exactly what your saying; I went flying yesterday & there was almost no wind. I couldn't land my Nexstar to save my life. It took me about 4 tries & I still ran off the end of the runway.

b/c i only have my foamie right now i dont like anything over 10mph. i have flown in stronger, but the foamies do like to run away. especially when the prop flys off and youre plane is about 200ft away downwind (happened the other day) if you know you can keep it out of the weeds, id say go for it. a good pilot knows how to fly....a better pilot knows when to fly.

I've flown my SPAD Debonair in 25-30 mph winds. It was a learning experience, but the plane is cheap. I've got a CAP 232 that I was trying to trim out and 15 mph winds were frustrating. Gusts are the worst to deal with. In fact, I was flying two weeks ago, setting up and approach, when a 15-20mph gust hit the CAP 232 from the tail. The plane was only about 75-100 feet up, and the tail wind resulted in a stall and spin. Needless to say, I gained a bit of experience (that means I crashed the plane).

Lesson learned - if there are gusts, factor the speed of the gusts into any down wind legs. The plane may not have enough time to respond to the change in wind.

Brad

Well today was my first flight of the year leaving winter behind I hope? anyway in the city it felt that there was a bit of wind something like about 18 to 20 mph, but when I got to the field out of the city the wind sock was straight and that means at least 30 mph and up, we estimated it could of been up to 38 to 40, anyway no mater what I had to fly, so I did but I've done this before, the plane I was using was a Superstar Select 40 w/ OS .46AXMax, what I do when it's too windy, fly short circuit and not for long, less then half the normal flying time so I have more fuel in the tank to stabilize the plane as it come to land, I found that if you use most of the fuel, the plane is very light and hops up and down before touch down, weight helps in landing in windy days, The Super Select 40 is not a plane you want to fly in windy days, but there not expensive (ARF). So this is my say flying in windy days.

roltech

I am also with you Ken. I don't mind the wind. Like several said it's the gust. We are also fortunate here it is mostly straight N or S. This year has been strange for direction but mostly it's straight. I windy day is a good time to practice a new trick. The plane stays in front of you a lot longer when going up wind. Rolling harriers come to mind.

David

I learned in the wind, I'll probably plant one if I try to fly on a calm day!

Depends on your skill level and what you consider fun. For most average pilots the fun factor rapidly dimishes after about 15MPH. If Im practicing pattern I will fly in up to 25MPH wind if its stright down the runway. IF its really bad crosswind I dont get much value out of it so I stay home and preserve my precious airplane. With my big gas planes... 20-25MPH. WIth a foamy or a profile plane or something... the sky is the limit[8D]

IF you like flying in a 40 MPH wond just because you can then go for it...

The field I go to typically has calm winds and clear skies till about noon. If the breeze picks up before then, then its usually less than 5 MPH. Although, one time, I was flying the Ultra Stick .60 in a 25 MPH 90 degree crosswind, and upon landing, I had 50% flaperons, and full right rudder, and the airplane still landed 45 degrees to the center line. Thankfully, since it was into the wind and with the flaperons, it stopped before it hit the safety fence. So, as others have said, it really depends on your experience, the aircraft, and common sense. For example, if you have a foamie, no use in flying in a 20MPH wind...although, during the last fun fly, we had a 20MPH headwind straight down the runway. One of the events was a high low, AKA fly as fast as you can between two marked points on the runway and fly as slow as you can down the runway. Everyone made it, but this one guy brought a foamie to the fun fly. He still had to fly upwind like everyone else, and at full power (this is with a brushless motor and 3 cell lithium polymer), the aircraft would go like one foot forward and three feet back. So, we voted to make an exception to the rules just for him, and he was able to do the high-low downwind. Okay, I'll shutup now.

Well, until my addiction starts screaming for the next fix (read: new plane), my primary plane will be my Aeroworks .46-.60 Edge 540T with an OS .61FX and 13x5 prop. Backup is my trusty old Mid-Star that currently has an OS .40LA, but should be getting a Webra Speed .40 transplant soon. As for skill level, the Mid-Star was my trainer for about 6 months last year, then winter rolled around. I've flown the snot out of RealFlight though, and on a calm to 10-13mph day I can rip up the sky with my Edge. It's quite fun. I was just curious what the consensus is on when flying in "wind" leaves the realm of nuts and enters the land of just plain stupid.

Keep in mind, I live in the Midwest and from what I've been told, if if want to fly out here, I'd better learn to fly in the wind.

on a glow/gas model. over 45 is kinda nuts, imo it's getting unsafe after 50. it stops being fun and more of a look what I can do over 35. slope soarer's I'd quit about 60. with that kinda wind speed the slope face speed is going to be well over quickie speeds if not faster. a little quick for a glider, just my comfort level, more like wing stress level. there is no black and white answer here, all shades of gray and your perception of it

I absolutely refuse to consider flying if hurricane warnings are hoisted.

In winds much above 20, I tend to go home, unless there's a lot of B.S.ing going on. It's not only the wind, it's what happens to the air just above the ground when the wind gets above this. I find getting low and slow enough to land can get pretty hairy with the wind rotors, wind shear and just plain turbulance going on.

I know it can be done and you guys who wouldn't fly much if you didn't go out in these conditions, are probably better flyers for it. I just don't find these conditions much fun and have to ask myself why?

Too much is whatever you & your model(s) can't handle safely.

That doesn't mean don't fly in the wind -- get something expendable & practice in the wind -- it can be huge fun.

I think if you need to ask the question of if it's too windy to fly, then it's too windy to fly.
As a general rule of thumb.

When flying is more work than fun, then quit before it breaks.

But that's what Donuts & Cofee are for, to snack on stuff while you gripe about the wind with your flying pals

I decided to play hooky from work today so I could go fly. The temperature was great but it was a bit windy (of course). I would estimate gusts up to 15-20 mph. I flew well most of the day. On the last flight of the day, a wicked cross wind kicked up. I brought my nexstar in for a landing and it was crawling along nicely. I got about 6 feet of the deck ready to touch down and a huge gust of wind came across the field. The wind lifted my wing up so high that I had to use full right aileron to correct. By the time it leveled out the plane was heading strait at me in the pits and only about 25 feet away. Rather than injuring me or someone else and/or the other planes in the pits I made a split second decision to nose it in to the ground. It wasn't that high up and didn't really do any major damage. The wind is a really pain sometimes, but I have a limited amount of opportunities to fly, so I have to take my chances.

For the newbee reading this post: these guys are experienced flyers, and there are two important aspects that make them experienced in flying in almost any type of conditions, namely, the ability to control the throttle and their ability to fly the plane using the rudder. Forgive me for preaching, but I really do think that learning these two aspects of model flying is being neglected. Before 3d flying, most of us had to learn to control the plane on the runway via the rudder. Now, you simply over power a model and it is off the runway in a flash. Unfortuneately, when one attempts to fly, say a Corsair or P-40 Warkhawk for example, attempting to pull these birds skyward before adequate flying speeds are reached prove disasterous. Likewise, when one attempts to land his/her plane in a crosswind one is challenged beyond thier abilities. If you want to challenge the wind, learn to control the throttle and the rudder.