Chopper Man,
Sorry, I didn't mean that you should go out and get crazy with it. I was just showing that you can have a lot of fun in the wind. I will be completely honest with you, it does take some getting used to when you start parking the plane and descending while parked. This is because you have to "teach" your brain to accept the fact that they plane isn't going to fall out of the sky. We've learned from the start that they plane has to move forward in order to fly. Now you're looking at a plane that is "standing still" yet it's still in the air. Logic tells your brain that they plane should fall out of the sky. Because of this you have to get used to doing this. When you start trying to park the plane definitely do it a few mistakes high. Another thing you have to do is be ready to get on the throttle immediately if the plane falls. This can happen quickly because the wind seldom blows at a constant speed, while parked the wind could slow down slightly and suddenly you no longer have enough lift to stay up there. Just keep practicing, you'll get to where doing this is second nature.

Just like everything else we do, the more you practice the better you will get. And flying in the wind is no different. As you start trying to fly in higher winds than you are used to please start off with a day that has the wind blowing straight down the runway. This way you can get some confidence going without having to deal with crosswinds. The biggest difference you will notice when flying like this is that you can't land with the engine at an idle any longer, you'll have to have a little bit of throttle to get the plane on the ground. On good thing about flying in the wind is that it will teach you to fly the plane to the ground. Being able to do this is (in my opinion) the difference between a pilot that is truly in control of his plane and a pilot that just reacts to what the plane is doing. Most people learn to land by lining up with the runway and cutting the throttle and then just controlling the glide until the plane touches down. This is flying by reacting. To really be in control you should fly the plane all the way down to where the plane touches the runway. To do this you'll end up learning to control your altitude on a landing approach with your throttle, and not with the elevator. When you fly in the wind it becomes even more important to fly the plane all the way to the ground. Another good trick to practice doing this is to do half speed touch and goes. Fly the plane over the runway at about half throttle and try to just touch the wheels to the runway and roll down the runway for a little bit. This will teach you how to get fine control over your altitude .

Anyway, I digress. Once you get to where you can land with the wind straight down the runway you can start working on crosswind landings. And you can also work on landing in ever increasing wind. The highest wind I landing in was 35-40 mph. And even I will admit that doing that wasn't wise!!

Ken

The worse part of the wind is when it is a cross-runway wind. But, getting on with the challenge is a great learning tool. You have to learn to use the rudder on take off and approach/landing. Even in the air, a cross wind can be, and usually is, a bit of a curse, but again, flying with it is a great learning tool. If you can manage to fly on a windy day, you can fly just about anytime. But, there are limits. You really have to use your judgement as to wind speed and direction if you really want to chance it or not. I often go and put the plane up thinking that it isn't really that bad, then fly a few orbits and then land and defuel and leave. It just isn't worth it to me to chance destroying an expensive plane just to fly in the tough winds. Now, what I do enjoy is when the wind is right down the centerline. WHen it is, well, it's a challenge, but landings are a blast.

DS.

The kids Eagle II can't handle much over 15mph... It can still get around but it's nothing a kid in training wants to handle.
More than that I'll grab a slope glider and head for the hills

Well with me having to work this weekend I went out this afternoon. The wind was blowing around 10mph in a direct crosswind. I went for it. All in all things went pretty well. Just need more flying time. I'm glad I went. You just can never replace experience.
chopper man

Just 10 mph????

Heck, that's a calm day in some places!!!

Honestly though, I'm glad you weren't scared by the wind too many people are and miss out on a lot of flying because of it. Good job.

Ken

If the wind is too much for you just borrow a friends plane. It's amazing how much calmer you are when it's not your plane in danger.

Hello; Here's a little tip for beginners about flying in the wind; I took my Typhoon out to the field on a windy day. First I should say that Our flying field is a cow pasture ringed by 2 to 4000 foot high hills. I was doing pretty good, stationary rolls, and even a stationary knife edge for a few seconds. I noticed that the higher I went the more wind there was, until about 100 feet high, the plane no longer had enough power to get upwind. By the time I noticed that it was getting too far away, I dove towards the ground, but I was blown into the trees about 120 feet from the edge of the field. The only thing I could do was dive into the trees, and get a landmark so I could find the wreckage. By this time all the planes were blowing away and everybody was scrambling to catch them, and getting them put safely away.

I walked directly to where I saw it come down, it was about 200 feet into the trees, about chest high hanging in a huge blackberry bush. I was surprised that only the covering was punctured, and the elevator was a little bit chewed on one side. The wing joiner had pulled out of one wing, but pretty much no damage.

As I was walking back with the plane, I remembered a lecture from one of our old timers, about wind gradiant. This means that if on the ground it is blowing 15 mph, at 100 feet it'll be blowing 25 mph, and at 300 feet, it could be blowing 50 mph. Of course the wind picked up while I was flying, but I was shocked when I realized that I didn't have enough power to get back unless I was low to the ground.

Now I know that the Typhoon is not a high wind plane, and that I was tempting fate flying that day. It drove the "wind gradiant" lesson home.

Couldn't find the vid I wanted..... but this might be a bit too windy to fly:

[link]http://www.metacafe.com/watch/39256/crosswinds/[/link]


Andy

chopper man- I live in GA also. I don't know about where you live, but here if the wind isn't blowing the gnats will drive you crazy[sm=bananahead.gif]. Trying to land with a gnat crawling up your nose is a challenge!
Seriously- If you have a simulator, bump the wind up on it. Then when you get used to that, make it a crosswind. That will help you get the hang of it.
Jason

[color=#FF0099]Ken,
I remember when you told me about "parking the plane" in the wind. Yup, I've done that now, and "harrier landings" right in front of me. Works best when it's 15-20 right down the runway. I was doing them last week. Of course, I'm still fuzzy on the crosswind landings, and somehow always rely on my aileron skills...that's why David is going to work on rudder with me next week.

What size Slowpoke do you have? I've got one that needs to be recovered....it's supposed to be my first lesson in covering, plus a flat wing, and a second wing with a little lip on the ends. Some of the guys have told me Slowpokes don't fly well.... I'd like your opinion.

Chopper Man,
Fly in what's comfortable to you, but push the envelope constantly. Pretty soon they'll have to tie you to the pilot station so you don't blow away! Only trouble I have is on crosswind turns high up...if it's really windy, I've had my plane invert...gets your heart going.

Bev

I almost lost a plane yesterday due to wind. Put skiis on and the plane lifted off with almost no forward airspeed. Turned downwind boy did she take off. It was all I could do to get it turned around and headed back towards me. Gradually got it down and taxied the rest of the way back to myself.

It didn't help that the plane was a trainer with lots of dihedral. Every time I got it turned cross wind it wanted to flip over. What saved me was that I took off on a frozen lake and didn't have to worry about trees or other objects to crash into.

Wind seems to depend on the plane

For example, i like flying my trainer in the wind. Heavy, easy to control, and can be "parked" right in front of you. I did have the engine quit once and landed within 3 ft of the end of the runway so be careful!

My funtana, on the other hand, doesn't do the same in wind. It's huge control surface act like kits and it is reletively light for is almost 60 inch wing.

My groovy 50 3a cuts through the wind no problem. It is heavy, sleak, flies fast, and has small control surfaces.

Bev,
I've got a 40 size Slow Poke, built from a kit. I'm flying it with an OS 52 Surpass 4-stroke. It's almost the perfect combo for flying. Trust me here, when you get your Slow Poke up and flying you'll soon have a new favorite plane. I know the Slow Poke is mine!!! With the 4-stroke in it I can get incredibly long flights out of it, if I'm real easy on the throttle I've been able to get 30 minute flights out of one tank of fuel!!! When I got the kit for this plane I didn't even really want it, I wanted the engine but they guy selling it was only going to sell the two together. I bought it and figured I would sell the kit later. After talking to some people here on RCU, and trying it on RealFlight, I decided to go ahead and build it. I'm glad that I did because it's my favorite plane now. In just over 2 years I have 400+ flights on it, almost 60 hours of flight time. It's a nice plane because you can fly it slow, but still be able to most maneuvers. It does the prettiest stall turn you've ever seen, plus it will do a bunch more too. But flying slow is a blast, especially in wind.

Keep me posted on yours when you get it recovered and flying.

Ken

If it will roll forward (even the slightest) I will fly!!! Given that it is fairly steady. I had been flying for about 2 months when I finally told my dad that I had gotten into rc airplanes. I was eager to show him my skills. the first day I decided it was too windy and the second day I said what the heck. It was a steady wind and I had a .46 trainer. I place the plane on the runway and pointed it into the wind. I gave it gas and it rolled about 6 inches and was in the air. the wings were level but climbed straight up. the landing was the trickiest part. I got it over the runway, pointed the nose straight down, dove at the runway and about 15 feet alt. I pulled up adjusted the throttle and set it down. As soon as the wheels were on the ground I cut the engine. the plane actually rolled backwards.