Drastad!! Weekend finally arrives and the sun has broken through. I checked the top of the pines outside my house and FETCH they are leaning hard. South winds must be 20mph+.
I guess plan b is in effect today. Sailing. G2 hopefully will help soothe the pain of not going to the field.
Any good stories about wanting to fly so bad they went into a hard blow anyway? What is your maximum conditions?

According to my mood, how bad I want to fly! But yes, I have flown in 20+ MPH winds on many occasions. Actually it is gusting that can cause a problem-- not a steady breeze.

I usually do not fly if winds exceed 20 mph. It is not that much fun and very seldom is anyone at the field. I sometimes will fly my Ultra Sport 60, Kougar, or Dazzler in high winds because I'm so bored and there is simply nothing else to do. I like building but my basement is still stuffed with planes even after and I sold 4 RC planes over the past month. Right now in St Louis wind is not a factor however the 94 F + temperatures are.

If I can taxi on the runway and control it as I apply throttle then I can fly. What I find is gusting crosswinds is what I have problems with and you never know that until you are trying to land!

I once flew in a crosswind which was blowing over our fields wind sock. We were guessing somewhere between 25 and 30 mph. I was flying my fun fly, and it did fine. I was using about 2/3 throttle ho hold it "parked" into the wind. That's a Rossi 45 with a 12.25x3.75 APC on a 4 pounder. Loops were about 10 feet tall and 40 feet long. Rolls into the wind were REAL FAST. I was able to land inline with the runway, with lots of rudder and some power. I flew twice, just to do it. I had about 200 flights on that plane, at that time, and would have trusted no other plane to do it. I guess I'm saying it's a comfort thing. I felt I could fly that plane in a thunder storm, but wouldn't try it with any thing else I owned. I will say, looking back, it wasn't the safest thing I ever did.

if the wind speed is faster than your planes fastest forward speed ...

its time to stay home.


seriously it all a matter of skill and comfort.

I will fly in almost any moderate wind. but will cut it short if i dont think I can keep the plane over the flight area.

one guy at our feild is up no matter what.

we joke that he likes to fly around tornados for fun

We had our Spring Club fly on May 11 of this year. It started out a little breezy in the morning, but was gusting to close to 30mph by the end of the morning. There a few big boys (80" plus caps) flying, but there were also a few hard core nuts(like myself) flying are Fazers. It was a little tricky landing, but taking off was fun. You could point that sucker south and give it the juice and be airborn in a few feet

KsFlyer

I have raced pylon racers in 60 mph gusts off of the coast of Florida. makes it a real trick in landing dead stick!
I enjoy flying my Wacky-Bee III in 20+ mph winds because I can hover it in a knife edge. If I raise the nose at about 45 degrees, high alpha knife edge manuver, I can get it to perform a knife edge elevator. I really enjoy that! Its something that you don't see very often
A buddy of mine that gotten the Wacky-Bee III to fly backwards in a KE in a 20 +/- mph wind. I've seen him do it, but I haven't been able to do it yet, but I'm still trying!

The Foamguy has flown in 40 mph wind estimated. It was fun ! But to be honest, also broken a few planes doing it. Backward landings are a blast till the gust stops. I still fly in wind, its pretty much a must here.... but I much prefer a calm day. Much more fun. Much prettier. Still, if its a sustained wind, it can be your friend.... like torque rolls that also move horizontally, or a horizontal waterfall/flatspin/wingtip spin. Also a neat friend to have to make those startup table carrier landings.

Foamguy

I flew in 25mph+ winds just last Saturday. There's nothing like doing a horizontal hover landing! LOL

Though not strictly Fun-Fly, we always keep a couple of SPAD Demons ready for windy days. Their higher wing-loading and $7 airframes make it enjoyable instead of scary.

We fly them in ANYTHING - rain or shine. We landed them backwards during hurricane Gabrielle.

http://www.spadtothebone.com/SPAD/Demon/

Right on ScottK !

Speaking for myself, I've got nothing against coro. Maybe not the best material for FF planes, but certainly tough, cheap, easy to work with, etc. Used a bit of it in my life. Once, even got to spend a weekend with Tattoo at a combat meet. Majorly cool guy. Anyway, hehe, hadn't thought of that, probably hard to beat coro in a hurricane.

Foamguy