When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Went to field today bright and early. Was nice and calm, dawn patrol stuff, and I got a couple good flights in. Then I started making right turns on takeoff and decided the cross wind was a bit much for me. Right about then my instructor showed up, and the wind started to howl. He flew his 172 around, downwind, crosswind, he's good, I tells ya. Then we stood around, while a bunch of other folks showed up, and gabbed, as fliers are wont to do when there's no flying to do. The wind began to settle down, foks got to flying, and I was considering taking the Avistar back up. Watched some of the other older guys work the wind, doing cross-runway landings, and was almost convinced to go up again, when lo and behold, my instructor re-kitted his beautifull F-82 twin mustang. He was slow and low on final, the wind caught the wing, and it was all over but the cursing. Like they say, take off's are optional, landings are not. I'm pretty comfortable at my skill level, and the wind today was definetly out of the envelope. Sat. we had similar winds, but they were right down the runway, that I could deal with. But today.... better off on the ground.
So call me chicken.
That's the last thing my instructor said to me before he started his P-82.....

(actually, he's not really my instructor per say, more of a mentor/guide)

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

At my field, if you won't fly in the wind you won't fly at all. It's usually pretty breezy at my field and I learned to fly in the wind using an Avistar with a little Magnum 40 on it. Believe it or not, the Avistar handles the wind pretty nicely. Sooner or later you're going to have to learn to fly in the wind or let the wind ground you.

Just mho,

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Yeah, I know, the wind was just so variable, one minute it was almost calm, then we'd get a good gust up to 10-12 mph, then calm again. I've got about 1-2 hours total stick time on the Avistar, just about to point where knees don't knock and stomach dosen't knot up when doing touch-n-goes. Flying with the wind Saturday was a good learning experience, and I do beleive in challenging yourself, but today just exceeded my comfort level just enough. I've been working in aviation for nearly 19 years, and I've got a pretty good feeling for how much my skill level exceedes my comfort level. Plus I didn't want to ruin my running record.... every time I've gone to the field since I soloed, I leave with the same prop on the plane that I came with....

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

I crashed because of the wind and a little pilot error. I will still fly in wind but when the wind sock is at least half way limp.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

I hate flyin in the wind, but I hate not flyin when my life allows me the time. So I've learned to tolerate some windy conditions. I guessing up to about 10 mph winds.. (that was a guess)
If ya have the patience don't push it. Being comfortable in the wind will come with time.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

I have found it isn't the mere presence of wind that is a problem. A fair amount of wind can make a trainer that is getting boring become a fun plane. The real problem is the gusts. When you least expect it they will jump out and bite you when you least expect it.

Taking off and flying aren't so bad in gusty conditions but landing can be a real bear. Definitely raises the pucker factor. I have come to the conclusion that if it is gusty and it is time to land, don't be afraid to abort a landing and come around for another try if a gust gets you spooked. Be patient and stay right on top of the plane as it can do funny things unexpectedly without warning. You will get better with experience but you will never reach the point of being invincible. There is no shame in staying on the ground if you can't reasonably expect yourself to make a solid attempt at landing in the given conditions.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Always leave sufficient fuel for at least 2 or 3 landing approaches when there's gusts.

Had my Super Sportster bipe out this past fall and the wind was blowing pretty good. Not a big deal but the gusts were pretty strong, and variable. I made two approaches before the wind seemed settled enough to land, but durring my approach, and while still about 2 feet off the runway, the wind shifted suddenly and the bipe dropped lock a rock. Flattened the landing gear out and broke the spar on the lower right wing. :eek:

I would have been okay if I'd been carrying more speed, but....
Dennis-

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

There's nothing wrong with saying that you don't feel comfortable flying if you feel the wind/weather is more than you are happy with. There's also nothing wrong with saying that you're not comfortable flying a particular plane if it's way beyond you and asking for help. The first few times I flew new planes for their maiden flights, I had one of the club instructors fly it first, trim it out and then hand it over to me. I've also sat around and "heckled" while others flew in low cloud conditions that I thought were beyond me.

My belief is that I'm better off saying "I think I'll call it a day" than I am being told "You should've stayed on the ground" while I collect the pieces of a broken plane.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Excellent advice! Excellent advice that I should follow, I might add. See, between the weather and my free time, the only flying I've done lately has been with a slow stick and a tigermoth on floats in the pasture at my parents house. It's a small hilldeide field surrounded by tall trees, which generate lots of turbulence. Somehow, I cannot resist the temptation to fly the battery pack right down to the cutoff, which means, if I cut the throttle and reset, I may be able to make one go-around, or I may be forced to fly at myself and snatch the plane from the air--something you don't want to try with an avistar:)!

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Don't worry about not flying, you will find that as you fly and get more comfortable, you will feel more and more confident. When I started, I did not fly in anything over 10mph. That has now gone up to between 15-20mph (depending on direction and gusts), and I am still comfortable. I also gauge the wind against what plane I am flying. I have a 4*60 that came out on the heavy side after I did some modifications, but it still flies great and in a wind it goes right where I point it.

One other thing, the worst you can do is let someone at the field talk you into it. You will get there with time. Once you decide it is too windy, don't second guess yourself. You still gotta land it when your done.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

To add to that.... don't talk yourself in to it either... must have been the scariest ride I have taken myself on... was real lucky to keep my plane in one piece.... But I was too keen to try out the skiis on the snow....

gus

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

10 mph isn't wind! Here in Kansas, 10 mph is a great flying day! Try a cub 40 on a 25 mph day! That one made me pucker a bit. Cub had no ground speed when the mains touched down.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Now thats fun! Do it when its gusty and it is definitely a real accomplishment.

I flew one day with a buddy of mine in a 25 mph wind and I had to fly my LT40 all the way to the ground to get it to land. The thing is such a floater it didn't want to come down! Once I finally got it on the ground it kept trying to take off again. Lots of pucker factor, but I had a good time.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Handling wind is a matter of practice.

I have flown in sufficient wind that when I landed, Ihad to maintain a bit of power to keep the aircraft from blowing backward. I've seen better pilots land planes such as Cubs in wind heavy enough they had to hold between 1/4 and 1/3 throttle and hold down elevator to keep the aircraft stationary and on the ground.

The local club's annual Pattern contest is notorious for 20 to 30 mph winds... that doesn't seem to have any effect on the number of people that come to compete. (but it sure makes the Sportsman class... :eek:interresting to judge.:eek:)

FLying in wind should be learned eventually. Learning to deal with it is easier with a heavier model. But once you learn to deal with it... if the wind isn't so fast that cruising speed of the trainer, or Cub or other light plane is blown backwards.... you'll be able to deal with it.

If we never flew in wind... we'd almost never fly in Texas.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

I LOVE THE WIND....I really want some like 20 mph constand winds going parallel to the wind......but not gusts.......that is the only wind that I don't like, you don't know when It'll blow everything over in the sky......

I love the wind so I can take my trainer up and play around (I can do this because I have a backup plane: a Somethin' Extra) and just like to go into the wind and harrier around......and hope to God that the wind doesn't stop when I'm doing that......

Well, I also like to fly with the wind w/ my trainer and make a plane that supposed to do like 50 mph do like 60 or 65 going w/ the wind.......so much fun........

You'll just have to get used to it.....after a while, you'll probably come to like it, even thought most people dont like it.....

Also, when I come in to land, and I'm coming into the wind, it just makes my landings look oh soo good!!!...................:D:):D (AND SOMETIMES NOT)

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

A lot depends on what I am flying. If it's my newest plane-to-end-all-planes, I won't take chances. But if it's a old beater, I'll fly in a hurricane.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

That's how I am (what am I talking about I only have 2 planes!?!).....but now that I DO have two planes, I just am going to fly the ol' trainer like it's a old geezer with nothing else to do......I mean, you should see this thing....I really need to recover it but that covering it alotta mula!!.....

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

i flew in 30 mph winds once in a contest and didnt really have a problem with it. now with my avistar i've flown in 20 mph wind and that was alittle rough but i bet you could handle it.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Wyoming Wind Festival--January 1 to December 31 every year.

Like in Texas, you won't fly in Wyoming if you don't fly in the wind. Just keep flying in stronger and stronger winds and you'll get used to it. Cross wind landings are easy, just learn to use the rudder. Backwards landings into a good strong wind are a ball. Like my instructor said when I learned to fly full scale, "the plane doesn't know it's windy."

Up here it's getting too windy when a 90" Road Runner with a 4.2 gasser running at full throttle can't move forward.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

That's why God created ARF's. "Always Ready to Fly." Something with enough power, weight and a symmetrical aerofoil can make a blustery day less unhappy. The best part is that the falling-leaf 3-Ders don't come out and play and you can have the whole field to yourself (or is that because they've seen my first seven approach attempts?)

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Flying in the wind is great if you have the plane and skills for it. I have flown a U-Can-Do 3D in howling winds .. like close to 20MPH.. I can take off and land literally in 5 feet!! Landings are really fun as you can harrier them into the wind. I have landed my UCD a few feet in front of me a 1/3 power. I have horizontally hovered too!! Crosswind, headwind.. doesn't matter much with that plane or this pilot. I won't fly my big CAP or Edge in a high wind though... to much $$ if something goes wrong.

Bottom line, even when you are highly experienced, it always helps to have something cheap you really don't care about so you can fly in a gale, rain, who cares!! ... it really is a lot of fun!! Of course I save the big expensive planes for the nice days, which fortunately, outnumber the windy ones many times over here in AZ!!

DP

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Its good to know your limits. The better you get, the higher your limits will get. Don't push it too early. No need to wreck a plane trying to prove something to someone else. It isn't worth it.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

Speaking of fly in a hurricane... :D;)

Last year's local airshow, the local club was supposed to fly at the beginning of the day. Wind was 22 to 27, gusts to 40 (KNOTS! By the airports anemometer) I still offered to fly the Tripe...[X(] (I had flown it in nearly the same wind conditions a week before...) The other club members decided there was too much wind and cancelled the club's flight demo.

RE: When to fly and when not to fly...
 

well I keep looking for excuses not to fly (bock bock bock) crabing on a sim with a 15km 90 degree cross wind is one thing. flying the plane that I have spent so much time and chick ching,,money is another ...well here i go it a 30 drive to the port, I've got CA and a Ebay plane (no blood sweat and tears in that one)
.......pull up ....pull up.....pull up......see you later bye bye...here I go