As I have said in other posts, I have a Firebird Commander 2 and I'm a newbie to R/C flight. Do I need to invest in a wind speed meter and frequency checker?

While both items are nice to have, neither is a necessity.

For wind speed, the approximation possible with the [link=http://www.mountwashington.org/discovery/arcade/wind/beaufort.html]Beaufort Scale[/link] is close enough.

To avoid frequency conflicts, get to know anyone who flies where you fly, and find out what frequency they are on. Or join a R/C club with a flying field where R/C frequencies are controlled.

- Jeff

hay thats a handy-dandy scale. My Dad was looking for a wind gage. but their too pricey right now. You don't need nether. Just nice items to have. I usually fly on the last scale of the chart. I always crash. What my problem???

Most people wildly over-estimate the wind speed. For example, 10 mph is actually quite breezy, and many people will wrongly estimate it is closer to 20 mph.

- Jeff

You can get a wind meter for 25-35$ and they are handy to have at some point.

where at?

[link=http://www.hallwindmeter.com/wind.php]Hall Brothers wind meters.[/link]

- Jeff