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wind speed
what is the max into wind speed for an rc plane?
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RE: wind speed
I fly .40 sized planes, and don't like it over 15mph. I can fly in stronger winds, but it's not very fun.
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RE: wind speed
When the birds get to scared to fly :P. I've seen a video of someone flying an rc plane in hectic wind conditions - but then again it seems as if he knows what he is doing. Experience plays a big role in what winds you can still have the plane under control and which not.
But if you are asking when does the plane start ripping apart because of the wind - hmmm, why don't we go test it hehe :D |
RE: wind speed
Alot of it depends on the plane in question and the type of wind. Steady wind isn't hard to fly in with some experience. Gusty wind is much more difficult. Planes built for speed and neutral handling tolerate the wind best, while slow models with self righting characteristics are the worst. So for trainers, a steady 10 mph blowing down the runway isn't too bad but it will tip the wings in the turns. A 10 mph crosswind makes things interesting in landing though. Warbirds and faster sport planes with low or mid wings get to be a handful in 15 mph winds, but just because they are being tossed around so much.
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RE: wind speed
Too many different things come into play when you are asking about wind. Just for fun go look up some photos of Sky High Bevs when they are out wind flying. Trainers floating off the starting stand during fueling being held in place with a hand on the wing top??
I had to show a student how to fly in wind once, when Igave him control of the plane he turned into the wind and started yelling dead stick because the plane came to a halt in mid air, by the end of the day he almost had it figured out. The plane itself is a key factor in the wind. Trying to fly a light weight ARF in the wind will show you the problem with that lighter is better thinking ARFers have been trying to tell people, a kit built plane of the same size and model will have far fewer problems handling the wind. Different types of planes will handle differently, pattern type of planes and most IMAC planes don't know it's blowing, a high winger will get pushed around a lot. Ifly up to 15 mph without problems but after that it tends to start being more work then fun. After 15 mph Ihave to take my planes apart on the leeward side of the van. Last week my rolling flight box was blown over, that's always a big mess!!! Wind is your friend!! Up to a point!! |
RE: wind speed
Scenario:16 oz electric Fromosa. Wind speed 30 MPH gusting to 45+. Top speed of the Formosa, 35 MPH.
Launched into the wind, and the gusts where bad. 5 minutes into the flight, and it is two hundred yards downwind away from me, and I'm losing ground. A few lulls in the wind allowed me to get it within 100 yards. Now my 10 minute timer is going off on my TX, and I know I am about out of juice. Thankfully, another lull in the wind, and I was able to get it within 50 yards of myself. Landed, picked it up, and went home. |
RE: wind speed
ORIGINAL: Deadeye Scenario:16 oz electric Fromosa. Wind speed 30 MPH gusting to 45+. Top speed of the Formosa, 35 MPH. Launched into the wind, and the gusts where bad. 5 minutes into the flight, and it is two hundred yards downwind away from me, and I'm losing ground. A few lulls in the wind allowed me to get it within 100 yards. Now my 10 minute timer is going off on my TX, and I know I am about out of juice. Thankfully, another lull in the wind, and I was able to get it within 50 yards of myself. Landed, picked it up, and went home. Last week it was blowing so hard I couldn't get my plane to turn around towards the pits and had to walk out to get it, even with the leash on it the plane didn't want to turn. Idrove all the way to Oregon for an IMAA fly in and was grounded for several days, my plane didn't have the power to fly into that wind and wasn't fast enough to fly the down leg. People tend to forget about the down leg, the plane has to be able to fly faster then the wind or it looses it's lift. |
RE: wind speed
ORIGINAL: frenchdoor what is the max into wind speed for an rc plane? Seriously, that is up to the plane and the pilot. On windy & gusty days I take out my Big Stik .60 which I have loaded down with a couple of heavy 4000mAh NiCD packs. It cuts through the wind for landings this way. The wind is what makes the plane fun to fly. Often I can take it high, and drop the throttle to idle for long periods of time, letting the wind keep it aloft. Usually I tire after 20 minutes of non-stop flight... but I've barely used any fuel. |
RE: wind speed
ok here goes......wind speed has no effect on airspeed.......wind speed only effects ground speed....look at dead eyes post...hes flying in such a heavy wind for his aircraft that his ground speed (speed at which the airplane moves over the ground) was negative..as the gusts lessened his ground speed increased and he made to within 50 yards of himself.....however his aircraft continued to fly...it did not stall, so his airspeed was enough to fly and remain constant unless he moved the throttle.....If he had turned the aircraft tail to the wind you would have seen the airplane rocket across the ground..as his ground speed would have been 65 to 85 mph but his airspeed would have stayed the same......
Whew.....hope I didn't confuse anyone...we as RC'ers tend to think that you see the airplane rocket with the wind that airspeed increased..it didn't....I was a flight mech on 727 came out of Memphis one day with a set airspeed, made the turn from north to north east and ground speed shot up to over 600mph as a tail wind was less than 5 degrees off the tail...airspeed stayed the same.... the answer to this drawn out dribble is....you can fly in any ground wind you want...you will have to fetch your aircraft if your max airspeed is less than the wind speed...Good Flyin to all |
RE: wind speed
ORIGINAL: jetmech05 ok here goes......wind speed has no effect on airspeed.......wind speed only effects ground speed....look at dead eyes post...hes flying in such a heavy wind for his aircraft that his ground speed (speed at which the airplane moves over the ground) was negative..as the gusts lessened his ground speed increased and he made to within 50 yards of himself.....however his aircraft continued to fly...it did not stall, so his airspeed was enough to fly and remain constant unless he moved the throttle.....If he had turned the aircraft tail to the wind you would have seen the airplane rocket across the ground..as his ground speed would have been 65 to 85 mph but his airspeed would have stayed the same...... Whew.....hope I didn't confuse anyone...we as RC'ers tend to think that you see the airplane rocket with the wind that airspeed increased..it didn't....I was a flight mech on 727 came out of Memphis one day with a set airspeed, made the turn from north to north east and ground speed shot up to over 600mph as a tail wind was less than 5 degrees off the tail...airspeed stayed the same.... the answer to this drawn out dribble is....you can fly in any ground wind you want...youwill have to fetch your aircraft if your max airspeed is less than the wind speed...Good Flyin to all I've heard ths windspeed has no effect on airspeed a lot and it just isn't so. I found out the hard way with my 4*60. I was flying a landing approach with a 15mph straignt down the runway. My down wind leg was doing just fine, I made the first turn into the cross wind, OK, I started my final turn and decided it was to soon, and as I turned back to slightly down wind, the plane dropped like a rock. Momentum of the plane during turns and in gust plays a big role. I've seen light electrics basicly hovering into the wind only to have the wind suddenly stop and it dropped like a rock. At our funfly last saturday my daughter and new born grand son almost got a face full of a foamy that the guy lost control of when he turned down wind and the plane came right across the pits, just missing my Daughter and grandson and crashed into the pickup parked behind them. Once the guy turned down wind, he didn't have enough airspeed to maintain control. The sudden change in direction and the momentum of the plane gave it a period of about three seconds of not flying until it hit the truck. As stated before, the light weight planes don't penetrate as well as the heaver ones. However given gust that go from 20mph one second to 3mph the next, or vise versa, flying a model plane isn't a good idea. Don |
RE: wind speed
I will fly my planes (.40 and bigger) in up to 30mph winds. I don't care if its across or down the runway.
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RE: wind speed
Lucky for me we don't see too many extremely windy days here in the south, so it is easier to pass on flying on windy days to wait for the calm days. I am interested in learning to fly on Windy days. How realistic is Real flight G4.5 in simulating a 20 + MPH wind. I currently have the turbulance and wind guststurned on, and it does a pretty good job of imitating the real world conditions I have experienced in the field on a day with say 8 to 10 MPH breeze. When I crank it on up to say 25+ MPH it is a real bear to fly in, and quickly becomes a chore and not as much fun.
I second Campgems commentsabove. Ifully understand the difference between airspeed and ground speed. A constant wind does not have much negative effect, and can be easily compensated for, but sudden changes in wind direction or speed can have a huge effect. If you don't beleive me take a look at the folded landing gear on my Cherokee that suddenly dropped from the skyduring a landing due to a change in wind direction. Ithink the biggest issue to flying in the wind is the consistency of the direction and speed. |
RE: wind speed
depends on your experiance, your willingness to push your boundries and your model.
trainers and floaters like a cub I won't fly over 15. it's just not fun. aerobats like my tower uproar, had several. I've flow in 35 mph wind, kinda fun landing backwards but not being able to hear yourself think isn't comportable, my compotition slope soarers I've been in 60 mph winds, no bull, megileto canyon out here sustains 50 on a regular basis. In those kinda winds landing is tricky, epecially when the back side of the hill has a 100 foot rotor you gatta dodge, but the ground speeds exceed 427 raceshttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif |
RE: wind speed
i have flown a gws slowstick in 25 mph winds once. that was really funny, i almost wet my pants
started flying in 15mph winds which i do all the time (1 pound "trainer" foamy 3 ch), then it picked up, way up. thankfully i had my rimfire motor on it. (waaaaay overpowering the plane) and not my towerpro i will fly spads in crazy wind, 30mph ish. its fun landing backwards:D.....[:@] |
RE: wind speed
Ithink I see a couple people that really need to down load Weather Bug so they can get live weather feeds on there computer. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f.../msn/72_72.gif
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RE: wind speed
what good does the computer do at the feildhttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f.../msn/72_72.gif
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RE: wind speed
ORIGINAL: redfox435cat what good does the computer do at the feildhttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f.../msn/72_72.gif A hand held anerometer will do the same. We seem to think the wind is blowing a lot harder than it really is. At our fun fly on May 23, we were getting cross runway guest that must have been 20 mph. However, looking back at the wind data from the college weather station a 1/4 mile from our field, the wind speed was well below that, with gust around 12 mph. It was more than I wanted to fly in and I should have listened to the little voice telling me to fly another day.We saw some really bad conditions up high. and one guy lost of foamy that almost hit my daugher and new grandson before crashing into a pickup parked by the pits. My flight ended with a broken prop and a skuffed up wing tip. Nothing a new prop and some new covering won't cure, but not one of my better days flying. At least no one got hurt and I can repair the plane. 30 MPHwind's are at the point of causing damage to structures and to trees. We had damage to the sun cover over the center of our pit area this winter and the winds were only about 35 mph that night. Nobody would fly in those winds, but some think they can. Don |
RE: wind speed
ORIGINAL: redfox435cat what good does the computer do at the feildhttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f.../msn/72_72.gif |
RE: wind speed
Fly nitro helis. The leading edge is 360 degrees, just tilt into the wind. I've flown a 50 in 30 mph winds. Take offs and landings are a little tricky.
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RE: wind speed
I've flown my flat foamie in winds where I had to use 3/4 throttle to keep it in one place, and this plane will climb unlimited at 1/2 throttle. I'm not sure the wind for that plane, but they where about 15 mph. We have a 15 kt. wind sock that was almost straight out.
I regularly instruct in 15 mph winds, and when a student has enough experience I'll fly them in winds up to 20 mph. Above 20 mph it starts to not be as much fun to fly. My Kaos doesn't like winds over 25 mph (thick airfoil), bet we'll pylon race Sky Raider's and Quickies up to 30 mph. I know a guy in Auburn, AL who complains he can't get any instruction in winds. He says when the wind gets over 10 mph everybody packs up and goes home - to windy. It all comes down to the plane and pilots experience/comfort level. If you want to fly in Kansas you learn to fly in 20 mph or you don't fly very often. Hogflyer |
RE: wind speed
I've lived and flown in Kansas, Texas, California, and New York. Also flown in Arizonia, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada.
The point? There are huge regional differences in the winds that people experience, and what winds they fly in. Light breezes that would not even bring mention in the midwest, emptied the fields in New York. In the bay area of California, most flying was over by noon because there was no wind until noon when inland thermals pulled in air from the sea. The height you measure the wind also makes a real difference to the reading. At ground level it can be 5 to 10 mph slower than it really is 20 feet above your field. As to 35 mph winds tearing down strutures? Please be serious. |
RE: wind speed
<div style="text-align: center">A long time ago I took my first ride in a glider on a day the wind was blowing at about 25 MPH. I had concerns and asked the glider pilot about the effect of wind on the glider's ability to fly and he repliedthat the glider is merely moving along with this mass of air that is also moving. The onlyeffect is when the glider is trying to do something in relation to the ground. When landing intoa25 MPH wind the glider's "airspeed" as indicated by the air speed indicator is still around 40 MPH while its "groundspeed" is only 15 MPH. The reverse is true when flyingin the same direction as the wind.The glider's"airspeed"is still 40 MPHwhile its "groundspeed" is 65 MPH (40+25). The wind we feel on the ground is merelythis moving mass of air that is passing by and colliding with our bodies.</div>The Model Aviation magazine put out by AMA had an interesting article about wind about two years ago. Ibelieve you can access the article by going to the AMA website. The article explains and illustrates wind effects on an RC model very well.
Much of the confusion about wind is the ground turbulence that weencounterespecially when flying close to theground in take-offs andlandings. Turbulence is caused by the wind passing by obstacles on the groundsuch as trees and buildings and then the air swirling for a distancedownwind from that obstacle.When these swirls encounter your airplane they may be traveling up or downsideways and will causethe airplane to move around. We probably don't have a choice butif RC flying fields were onlylocatedon level ground free from ground obstacles it would probably cure a lot of our flying problems. Like jetmech05 I have encountered many arguments from my fellow model flyersover this subject and will likely continue to do so.Hope my thoughts expressedhere stir your mind a bit. ORIGINAL: jetmech05 ok here goes......wind speed has no effect on airspeed.......wind speed only effects ground speed....look at dead eyes post...hes flying in such a heavy wind for his aircraft that his ground speed (speed at which the airplane moves over the ground) was negative..as the gusts lessened his ground speed increased and he made to within 50 yards of himself.....however his aircraft continued to fly...it did not stall, so his airspeed was enough to fly and remain constant unless he moved the throttle.....If he had turned the aircraft tail to the wind you would have seen the airplane rocket across the ground..as his ground speed would have been 65 to 85 mph but his airspeed would have stayed the same...... Whew.....hope I didn't confuse anyone...we as RC'ers tend to think that you see the airplane rocket with the wind that airspeed increased..it didn't....I was a flight mech on 727 came out of Memphis one day with a set airspeed, made the turn from north to north east and ground speed shot up to over 600mph as a tail wind was less than 5 degrees off the tail...airspeed stayed the same.... the answer to this drawn out dribble is....you can fly in any ground wind you want...youwill have to fetch your aircraft if your max airspeed is less than the wind speed...Good Flyin to all |
RE: wind speed
ORIGINAL: Campgems ORIGINAL: redfox435cat what good does the computer do at the feildhttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f.../msn/72_72.gif 30 MPHwind's are at the point of causing damage to structures and to trees. We had damage to the sun cover over the center of our pit area this winter and the winds were only about 35 mph that night. Nobody would fly in those winds, but some think they can. Don |
RE: wind speed
Iam with graybeard here there are a lot of high numbers being spoken about being flown in, the guy with the gws slowfly at 25 mph I don't think so.What GB is asking is what are you using to tell you these wind speeds.I fly at 1000ft and when we get 17-20 mph winds with gusts over that we get planes chucked about on the ground 60 size extra's and trainers so a slowfly wouldn't even make it out of the car.
We know our speeds as a few guy's have hand held anenometers,the LMA here in the uk will only fly at 25 mph as long as it is not seriously gusty and these guys fly 100lb plus planes. Jim www.modelclub.org |
RE: wind speed
If weather.com says 20-25mph winds, I'm at the field. Those numbers are for the town/city/region or whatever, it's usually more windy along the foothills where we fly.
Last week was a few days of 20-25mph. Planes could not be left unattended on the ground, folding chairs and canopies could not be used, and planes had to be manually carried and placed on the strip, often needing their tails held in place until ready for taxi. I was the only guy with a powered plane, one other guy flew a glider, one other guy watched, no one else showed up. Could not wear a hat and sunglasses blew off my face. It was windy. F3A regulations, for national competition, limit flying to 30mph winds and below. I try to fly in anything (wind) up to that. |
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