at the moment the wind here is like 30-40 mph most of the time[:'(] and the tail seems to 'let go' or kick sometimes when i bank round across the wind, is this normal? im using a csm hh gyro which i know isnt the best you can buy but does the job normally. do other people fly in winds of this speed and do you get these symptoms?

30-40 mph cross wind would be very difficult for most helis to hold in. Larger helis( .60 and up), turning bigger tail blades would have the best chance of handling it. I wouldn't blame the gyro for letting go at that speed. The tail has to generate a lot of force to counteract that much crosswind and if it can't, no gyro will be capable of holding it.
Later,,, Matt
I don't enjoy flying enough to fly in 40 mph winds

its not a constant 30-40 more like 20 mph wind with gusts of 30 - 40mph.
into the wind its hard to get any speed up but turn it around and its like a catapult lol.

The tailrotor is a lifting disk like the main rotor and can get into a vortex-ring state aswell. This could be whats happening.

From what I have read so far, and I am new to this, is that safe wind speeds to fly in should be round about 5 to 8 mph. I would be scared to fly mine in 30 to 40 mph winds. Is there any accepted saftey rule or standard regarding the wind speeds?

Yes, Dont fly in anything you arent comfortable with. Its never a bad idea to be comfortable with flying in some wind, It'll give you a wider spectrum of conditions to fly in and therefore more days will be open for you to fly. start with light wind and slowly work your way up. Its always great when people start saying things like "I'd never touch this weather with any of my stuff.... but he doesnt seem to notice *Points to you*"

Dan. My opinion - junk the CSM. I've had a few of them but never found them to be rock solid and go wrong the most. I know MHW raves about them but get a 401 (or a JR) and I'll bet money you'll never look back. Also. BMFA recommend no flying in winds at 25mph or more and I personally don't fly at 15mph or more (but then I hate the thought of crashing my beloved helis). Interestingly, just mentioned in another thread about the use of a 90 cos it's always windy these day. Think I'm one of the few with a wind meter.

well ive changed the servo on the tail because i didnt trust the old one, seemed to move slow without much ooomph. not flew it yet but its a big improvement on the bench. gonna go for a 401 gyro when i feel the need to.the hl200 doesnt seem to like backwards flight but then that could be the servo.

I use a digital JR servo on the one heli with the 401 - rock steady. I use the 401 with futaba "whatever it is" servo (is it 9234 - can't be ars8d to go and look) and is super too. I now have three 401s and love 'em but they do drink the battery juice and hate it when the battery is low. I just won't buy anything else except small GMS for indoor stuff.

well the weather has been pants all weekend so no flying for me this week,darn i wanted to test my new servo too.