In my case wind doesn't matter to me, it is just another element to have fun with while flying. The more you fly in it, the more natural and fun it feels. I actually enjoy flying lighter powered airframes in the wind, so I don't see weight as being anyone's friend at all, I see practicing in the wind as being your friend... Plain and simple...



Bob

I fly my tiger 2 and 60 at the AMA headquarters in Muncie indiana as my go to field.the space is an open 1,200 acres and average 10-18 mph gusty changing directional wind.
what I have learned over the years is that you need to keep the speed up to have total response control or else the wind will flip your plane over, min 1/2 throttle for nitro flights , the heavier the aircraft the better it handles the wind, but speed is the most important, on approach keep the engine turning and bring her in accordingly, speed up when needed,

az3d-
thanks for the recommendation of the 3 axis gyro. I ordered one of the Orange ones for $18, but I still need to find the M-M leads as they did not have them. It looks like this model can be turned on and off in flight maybe so if it is calm and gets really windy it can be turned on to help. That would be nice because I would rather only use it when it is really needed and let my skills grow without using it as much as possible.

jester-
Thanks. I think I will stay electric right now as I already have the charger and a few 3s batteries. Later maybe I will look at a gas engine model. Gas would be preferred to glow as the closest hobby shop that I know of is around 2.5 hours away. I am out pretty far from civilization.

I have a strip of hay field that is over 1300 ft long, so the space to put in a mowed runway would not be an issue. I could mow it in 5-10 minutes with the 5ft mower on my tractor. I am not sure if mowed hay field would be smooth enough to land on and take off from though.

lonestoner-
Yes speed does seem to help with the wind. It is changing from tail wind to nose wind that this little plane gets really swirly.

Also do you guys know anything about the Tower Trainer 40 Mk II? It looks like a nice plane that is electric with a 60" wingspan.

Thanks

Trainers are all so self righting they start to hold you back once you have your head together with flying. If you are confident flying your current plane, a balsa trainer is probably a waste. It's a common misconception that only trainers are slow and docile and forgiving. That's not true. What makes them trainers is the self-righting characteristics and the self-leveling effect you get from a high wing incidence. The Ugly Stick mentioned above is just as slow and forgiving as a trainer, easier to take off and land with, and can grow with you as your skills progress. Start with the CG toward the middle front of the recommended range with low rates to get used to the plane and start doing some basic aerobatics, then move the CG back a bit and turn up the throws to go as wild as you want to. It will be very stable in the wind and durable too. The latter is important because it's the second plane that really gets beat up. I see trainers for sale regularly, scale and aerobatic planes for sale often, but rarely a stick. Why? Because by the time someone is moving on from one, they've beat it up so bad it's not worth anything. That's assuming, of course, they ever do move on from one.

To go electric on a .40 size Stick or any other sport plane, you'll be looking at 5 or 6 cell battery packs probably in the neighborhood of 4000 mah. You'll need a charger that can handle those, probably in the 200 watt range with the appropriate power supply. The park flyer size sticks will probably work with your current charger.

I self taught myself on a rip max 40 nitro trainer. First flight I rolled on take off due to reversed aileron servos. That was my first lesson.

My my second lesson was in the reconstruction of planes.

after that I managed to keep the plane in the air and get it back in the ground, usually in one piece. Worst case some minor damage to the tail plane or propellor.

im actually on my second rip ax now as I smashed my first one by being a little too adventurous and performing low level aerobatics. Trainers aren't the most graceful planes when it comes to performing barrel rolls and I lost too much height and accidentally pulled up when inverted. I needed a spade to retrieve my engine so you can imagine the state the plane was in.

ive never crashed my second one apart from into a goal post after landing. I mainly use it for taking aerial photos and videos now as it is good on fuel and easy to land with the extra weight on board.

after that I bought a second hand black horse travel air. It's a low wing sports / trainer I suppose. It flys very easily. Probably easier to fly that the trainer but that's just my opinion. It's much more responsive to control inputs which to me makes it seem easier to fly. You just need to make sure your level on landing as your wings are lower. It's a great plane though.

i also have a seagull Pilatus pc-9 which has a os46ax. I've flown it successfully every time except once when it cut out and I couldn't get it back to the field and caught a tree. Only minor damage. I don't really fly this plane too much yet as it's fast and a little beyond my capabilities if I'm honest. It's too nice a plane to want to smash it up so I'll keep playing with the travel air for now.

As as for wind I definitely think that 40 or 60 intros are the way to go. If you can fly a lightweight electric then I think you will find a nitro trainer quite easy. You just have to be sure the engine is set up correctly and the plane is balanced. To be honest I find a 15mph steady (not gusty) breeze is a good thing. Technically it gives you more ground to land on as you land into a headwind so the plane is in front of you for longer.

im no expert by any means but that's my input.

Ive not flown a plane for a year so just dusting them off now and cycle testing my batteries. Think I'll start with my trainer before the travel air.

self teaching can be done though and it worked for me. Just make sure safety is your priority. Don't fly alone.

I agree with not flying alone. Doesn't have to be another flyer just don't fly alone.
you see I've worked on full scale aircraft both props and jets all my adult life. Knew the dangers had all the safety lectures etc etc.
Well Thanksgiving morning of 07 while in a hurry to get a flight in between showers my right had met the prop. The prop went through the bone on my social and ring fingers missed the bone on my pinky. Took 21 stitches on the tips of 3 fingers.
I was glad I wasn't alone. My friends took my equipment home, took me and my daughter to the ER and called my wife.
props bite and bite hard

Hey mate , I am a beginner also. I did the same as you , but I brought a glow model. Smashed it first day. Then I got another , and smashed that the very next weekend. After getting disgruntled and pissed off with myself I finally listened to advise from others and I got myself a " bixler". They are a small foamy type glider , but has a small electric motor on the back pushing the plane along. They fly awesomely well. Mine had over 100 flights until I eventually gave it away to a friend. They are available from hobby king , ready to go from the box. Everything you need is in the box. I thought I would neaver learn to fly , but was not until I got one of these models that I finally started enjoying the hobby.

One we thing to remember is there is only 2 ways to learn to fly. The long way , or the hard way. I learnt the hard way.

Look up " bixler" on YouTube , they are a great plane. I was once like you too.....wanted to fly " proper" models straight. Away , but it just does not happen that way.


Good luck and all the best.

Craig.

Craig -- Thanks. I have gotten the hang of flying this AXN pretty well. I chopped 9" off the wings which made it quite a bit more sporty and fun top fly. I pretty much always have considerable winds, so I have learned the hard way like to you learn to fly in it. I have gotten to the point where the wind is fun to fly in. Surely makes things interesting. :-)

I am looking for a good second plane right now that will allow me to develop my skills more. What have you settled on for your second plane?

Hey folks,

So after years of interest (and literally HUNDREDS of hours of research online/talking to those in the know/threads/blogs/reviews/on and on etc., I decided at age 40 to pull the trigger on the rc plane hobby. The plane I decided to buy was the Multiplex Easystar 2. The rear upper prop mount seemed to make sense for beginners. My father who I recently lost was LITERALLY a professional grade model builder (not R/C, just plastic planes, cars etc.), and a helluva lot of his skills were passed down to me as I myself have been building models since I was very young. So the building process of the plane has been a sinch for me, and also extremely addicting and satisfying.

The speed bump I seemed to have hit however is when my buddy hand launches it - and when NOT very windy - it seems to kind of get blown side to side when I climb or maneuver. When I bought the motor (an E-Flite Park 450) I realized after opening it up that it was a rear mount (those of y'all familiar w/the EasyStar know that it says to get a front mounted motor as it sits inside the motor pod on top of the fuselage). But I bought online a two piece aluminum adapter bracket (specifically for the Easystar 2)so the motor I bought could be fitted. I realized it could tend to may be a bit tail heavy what with the motor now sitting a few short inches back from the factory setting, so at the front of the battery (E-flite 3s 11.1v 1300mAh) I attached a little 1/4oz lead weight.

The plane seems to balance at the said COG, but again it just seems to get a little blown side to side with the wind. Was just curious maybe if it is a tad tail heavy yet?
Thanks so much for any input!
Cheers

A side to side wobble isn't normally an indicator for a CG problem. A tail heavy plane is usually too sensitive to the elevator input, is snappy if you pull too hard on the elevator in a fast turn or pulling out of a vertical dive, and will drop it's nose very suddenly if you flare too soon on a landing. A tail heavy plane also just flies erratically, especially in pitch. If you plane flies smoothly in general and lands predictably, your CG is probably fine.

Can you explain exactly what the plane is doing that bothers you? Is the tail wobbling back and forth, or are you getting a consistent yaw effect when you pull up for a maneuver?