Too windy to fly???

[Ron Gray]

I have just returned from a visit to our flying site with my 11 year old grandson. He has never flown a 'proper' RC 'plane before so flying my good old foamy WOT4 on a buddy lead was a first for him. As an aside, I asked him if he would prefer a traditional TX (Taranis X9D) or a game pad style one (Jumper T Lite), he chose the latter! Anyway the windsock was just down from the horizontal (15 - 18 mph) and that strength wind would have been enough to have put off a lot of the more 'seasoned' fliers in our club but having no preconception about 'strong wind' he was completely un fazed. The first flight consisted of him carrying out basic turning manoeuvres with my assistance if he overturned or let the nose drop too much. In the second flight he was able to have total control of circuits without any assistance from me (apart from voice) and was able to coordinate aileron and elevator turns to maintain his height. I carried out take offs and landings but I reckon another couple of sessions will see him doing those too.

 

TBH I was taken aback with the 'no fear' approach that youth brings to the table, I just hope that he continues with it.

[Steve Houghton 1]

It's good to hear of a youngster wanting to learn to fly model planes. We definitely need more of them to keep this hobby alive.  

[Allan Bennett]

Yes, youngsters can sometime embarass us older, more experienced flyers.  Presumably the 'no fear' approach stems partly from the fact that they often don't have to fix or pay for damage. 

 

Coincidentally I was teaching my grandson the other day, and he's taken to it without any problem.  Too windy for my light foamy trainer, but he was happy on a racing quad!

Edited August 13, 2021 by Allan Bennett

[EarlyBird]

Well done! An impressive start for the lad.

 

You have no fear of the wind as you have demonstrated when the windsock was not only horizontal but flapping, 20+ mph? I forget which model you maiden, a Peter Miller one I think.

 

When I started I asked will we be flying tomorrow. Yes no matter what the weather we will be here flying the only thing that stops us is rain. Next day was windy and wanting to show willing I turned up. Put the Riot together and took it in the cabin out of the wind. There was a group drinking tea as I entered. Immediately John jumped up come on let's go. Hang on a minute it's too windy was my thought 'wind what wind' is what I got followed by a round of laughter from the assembled no fliers. Put the Riot on the tarmac and it rolled back. John gave it a bit of throttle to hold it in place while I took the buddy Tx. This was my third lesson. After a couple of circuits John asked if I was happy, a tentative yes came out but I was not at all sure that I was happy. After six minutes time was up and I felt mentally drained, we retired to the cabin for more tea. What 21 mph! I was amazed.  

 

Your grandson had an instructor who showed no fear and it rubs off on the pupil and conversely it's too windy instructors inevitably create the fear of the wind. That's my theory true or not does not matter to me.

 

We had a novice join because he was getting nowhere as his old club would not fly over 10 mph. John soon had him in the air, again he was equally amazed. Legend has it that one pupil flew at 28 mph, 15 mph is perfectly flyable he told me on a windy day. At my other club I know I will be flying on my own if the forecast is over 10 mph and that is with over 100 members. 

 

Flying in a wind is more fun, all it takes is practice. I would encourage everyone to gradually increase the wind speed as they could find it to be more fun, there's only one way to find out. Certainly beats sitting at home wondering when you will next be able to fly.   

[John Stainforth]

The biggest problem when flying models in strong winds is the ground, where they can get blown over hard or off tables etc, if one is not very careful. Once in the air it can be great fun. I particularly like being able to land more or less vertically

[martin collins 1]

That `No fear` approach was probably partially due to the fact that it wasn`t his model if he binned it! ?

[Geoff S]

22 minutes ago, John Stainforth said:

The biggest problem when flying models in strong winds is the ground, where they can get blown over hard or off tables etc, if one is not very careful. Once in the air it can be great fun. I particularly like being able to land more or less vertically

Indeed. Ian Redshaw lost a beautiful DeHavilland Fox Moth (or a similar passenger bipe with fold-back wings)  when it was on the ground in the pits.  I used to fly my Limbo Dancer in silly winds but landing had to be followed by a very swift retrieval before it blew away or, at least, over.

 

As for youngsters having no fear, I think it has a lot to do with no responsibility for repair or expense ?   Some years ago the son of one of our members was flying his Dad's Lazy Bee and executing very violent bunts at a supposedly safe altitude.  Actually the altitude was irrelevant when the wing detached itself and floated gently to earth - the same couldn't be said for the fuselage!

[Cuban8]

Good to hear that a youngster is enjoying the delights of R/C flying. Keeping their interest over the longer term I believe is the difficult problem facing the hobby. My concern is that young newcomers may well view flying a model - any model or 'flying instrument' as merely an extension of their Playstation or other games machine where tremendous hand/eye coordination is learned. The question being is there enough interest in flying something over a field as compared to the stimulation of high energy video games and will have them coming back for more in the cold/wet/windy/muddy conditions that we tend to accept.  Would even precision aerobatics be enough of a challenge ? I honestly don't think that they get the magic of the hobby that captured those of us of a previous generation and a life long interest for many it turned into.

I was watching my eight years old grandson playing a mega fast Space Invaders type game a day or two ago and was amazed at the dexterity and speed of his thumbs on the controls - maybe five or six hits per second? I had a go and failed immediately, my thumbs, eyes  and brain were simply not connected as needed! He had ten minutes of that and moved on to another equally fast shooting type game that I was equally hopeless at. Personally, I couldn't see the attraction at the stress and exertion but that is just what is attractive to gamers as far as I can see and what brings them back for more and what sells the games.

My guess is that many modern kids have none of the air mindedness of past generations, the dream of your own Sptfire or whatever to emulate your Battle of Britain heroes seen the comics of the 50s & 60s is no longer relevent and I suspect would  even be discouraged in some quarters.

If you could get a brick to fly under R/C control and hand it to most kids for a thrash around it would be just as exciting for them at least for a while......perhaps that's why drones are so popular? (only kidding, I think).

[andyh]

42 minutes ago, Cuban8 said:

If you could get a brick to fly under R/C control and hand it to most kids for a thrash around it would be just as exciting for them at least for a while......perhaps that's why drones are so popular? (only kidding, I think).

 

I strap a brick (of LiPo) to my quadcopter, thrash it around & find it pretty exciting.

 

I'm not sure I've qualified as a kid for several decades though.  ?

[Don Fry]

Not always a bad idea. New to my current club in France, turned up on a Saturday afternoon. Windy, cross wind landing.

After the obligatory Hand shake, and or, kiss as necessary, I fueled the plane, and they continued to hang about. 
Off I went, 10 minutes, in to land. When I found out that an east wind, (check), coming up the slope, curls over trees, to form a vortex at the landing area threshold. I got away with it, just. 

Someone said, that everyone was wondering where it would be today

[Mitchell Howard]

16 hours ago, Cuban8 said:

Good to hear that a youngster is enjoying the delights of R/C flying. Keeping their interest over the longer term I believe is the difficult problem facing the hobby. My concern is that young newcomers may well view flying a model - any model or 'flying instrument' as merely an extension of their Playstation or other games machine where tremendous hand/eye coordination is learned. The question being is there enough interest in flying something over a field as compared to the stimulation of high energy video games and will have them coming back for more in the cold/wet/windy/muddy conditions that we tend to accept.  Would even precision aerobatics be enough of a challenge ? I honestly don't think that they get the magic of the hobby that captured those of us of a previous generation and a life long interest for many it turned into.

I was watching my eight years old grandson playing a mega fast Space Invaders type game a day or two ago and was amazed at the dexterity and speed of his thumbs on the controls - maybe five or six hits per second? I had a go and failed immediately, my thumbs, eyes  and brain were simply not connected as needed! He had ten minutes of that and moved on to another equally fast shooting type game that I was equally hopeless at. Personally, I couldn't see the attraction at the stress and exertion but that is just what is attractive to gamers as far as I can see and what brings them back for more and what sells the games.

My guess is that many modern kids have none of the air mindedness of past generations, the dream of your own Sptfire or whatever to emulate your Battle of Britain heroes seen the comics of the 50s & 60s is no longer relevent and I suspect would  even be discouraged in some quarters.

If you could get a brick to fly under R/C control and hand it to most kids for a thrash around it would be just as exciting for them at least for a while......perhaps that's why drones are so popular? (only kidding, I think).

 

I know these PlayStation comparisons are popular, but I have to say as a relatively young starter (mid-30s) the pull of this hobby isn't in an alternative to the PlayStation. I've never dreamt of 'my own spitfire' because that's an unlikely prospect and as the war fades even further into the distance I think people will become less interested in them. I also can't ascribe to the collective illusion that we all own our own warbirds.

 

What I can get onboard with however, is the enjoyment of flight, which I think transcends generations. With H&S spoiling the practical demonstrations of physical theories from school through university, hobbies like this provide an avenue for parents to show how things learnt at school apply in the real world (battling the 'I'm never going to use this' mentality). Someone else mentioned landing vertically in wind. A few weeks ago I bought and flew my first model with flaps. Watching something with such a size and weight move through the air at slower than walking pace gave me a satisfaction that comes along rarely.

 

Mustn't forget the social aspect too - for those of us still working, and I imagine we're the minority, the hobby is a reason to leave the house. When your existence consists of work/shop/cook/sleep/TV, the hobby can gain members if it can reach those frustrated minds.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Mitchell Howard

[EarlyBird]

My main motivation is to get out of the house and into the countryside, I like to see the Birds, Hares and the occasional Roe Deer.

 

When arrangements have been made to meet up I pay less regard to the weather forecast and especially the wind strength. This makes for some fun filled days pushing our skills to the limit and it's being in good company that enhances the enjoyment. 

 

The higher the wing strength that one is willing to fly in the more days flying will be available, simple as that. 

 

[leccyflyer]

As a part time soarer the wind strength and direction is the first thing I check in the forecast before deciding whether to go flying, or where to go flying. Second thing is the cloudbase, then whether there is rain forecast. Don't bother to check the temperature, that's the least important variable. It's called weather for a reason. More important than all of the above is whether anyone else is going flying or not.

 

The predicted windspeed will govern which models I'll choose to take to the field, or slope. I can fly in wind, given the correct model, but I still consider it an important factor. Whilst there may be a perceived tendency for beginners to be a bit timid about flying in wind, in my experience the opposite has been true, with relatively inexperienced flyers choosing to fly in much stronger wind than their skill level dictates and then being surprised when things go badly -they are then earning that experience the hard way. For more experienced flyers there comes a point where it becomes a lot less enjoyable to battle against an unsatisfactory wind and, as there are no paying passengers, or critical missions to complete, that is why on a windy day there will be tend to be more chatting and less flying.

[Dad_flyer]

Forecast on xcweather was 10-18 for today. It seemed at the high end of that, but at least blowing into the side of the patch which has 7" maize. Child_flyer had no worries about taking the Stick up. No one else there. We stayed 4 hours with plenty of flights, it calmed down a lot later and Renegade and little Mayfly had a relaxing outing as well. I am still not allowed a go with Renegade.

[Walts]

I remember when  my dad was teaching me to fly way back in the day when getting in to trouble meant literally handing the whole tranny back to him and saying, 'there you go sort that mess out before it hits the ground!' I was so keen to get through my A test back then that I forced him to take me over the field one evening after he'd finished work, even though you could actually lean in to the wind without falling over. Obviously I was only flying a high wing trainer designed to practically fly itself anyway, but at the end of that successful session he said to me, if you can fly in that you can fly in anything! I think sometimes when you are relying on other people for your flying experience you don't want to miss a single opportunity! Now days I admit to being a complete wimp who won't fly in any wind at all if I can help it. My flying buddy laughs at my attitude to wind. But I only build scale models, models that take many months or sometimes even years to build. They can be delicate and less forgiving of high wind, particularly when trying to get them down safely. I know I'm missing out on some valuable flying experience, but personally, I'd much rather keep my hard work intact for a better day. I love building models as much, if not more than the actual flying of them though ?  

[Don Fry]

Walts. 
Hack, hits the ground, build another.

Precious, avoid hitting the ground, for as long as possible.
No need to apologize. 

[Piers Bowlan]

When it is too windy for your power model to be flown from the patch, head for the hills (if not too distant) with your slope soarer. ?

[Robin Colbourne]

Three types of weather:

No or light wind = Free flight, Control line, R/C power, Thermal soaring

Lots of wind =  Slope soaring

Rain = Indoor flying, model building, repairs, modelflying.co.uk/forums...

[Nigel R]

12 hours ago, Don Fry said:

Hack, hits the ground, build another.

Precious, avoid hitting the ground, for as long as possible.

 

Agree.

 

You can fly most days if you choose the right airframe.

 

[Don Fry]

2 hours ago, Robin Colbourne said:

Three types of weather:

No or light wind = Free flight, Control line, R/C power, Thermal soaring

Lots of wind =  Slope soaring

Rain = Indoor flying, model building, repairs, modelflying.co.uk/forums...

I was caught flying in my lounge/diner on a wet day. The lounge/diner is 7 or 8 meters square, good lighting. And I have a mini vapor. So to add interest, I folded the table cloth in two, put a handy shoe box on end, and I had an aircraft carrier, complete with bridge, to land and takeoff.

SHMBO flounced in. The flying was JUST tolerated, but the rearranged dining table got a “what's that”. I said “ a semi scale representation of HMS Ark Royal” .

“Fool” she said and flounced out

 

[Wookman]

No such thing as too much wind. It's called having the wrong model.

[Matt Carlton]

I cut my teeth slope soaring, so most of my flying was done in a wind of 15 to 40mph+. So perhaps my threshold for discomfort is a bit higher than some who have only flown power models, but it comes down to model selection ultimately. 

My choice in windy weather? Something like a warm/hotliner. I have a Max Thrust Lightning which does pretty well in a good blow. Reasonably clean, no undercarriage, responsive and moderately quick. 

Slope soaring from the flat I suppose. 

 

[Peter Jenkins]

I'm not able to change my model to suit the wind as I try and practice my aerobatic schedule pretty much all the time.  It's not the wind that's the problem, or even flying in a cross wind, it's the turbulence you get at some fields on the approach to land.  With a delicate aerobatic model undercarriage to consider it can be quite a nasty shock to the system to reach terra firma in a soft way!  However, since the weather is almost always terrible during competitions it pays to keep flying in awful conditions although I do draw the line at flying in rain!

[Trevor]

I went to the Popham show on Sunday and was impressed by how well the pilots coped with a 10 - 15mph wind across the runway. So, since there was no prospect of a better opportunity this week, I set off to the field yesterday in spite of the forecast 12mph north easterly. As Peter says, it's not wind strength as such but turbulence that makes flying difficult - or just unpleasant. My most local site suffers badly in this respect so I opted for the more distant, very open field and, sure enough, the conditions were very pleasant, albeit a touch cool early on - it may be August but a North easterly is a North easterly!

 

I'd egged on a couple of other flyers to give it a go so we had a very enjoyable day. Nine flights in all, with Avanti, Aeromaster, Mustang and Panther.

 

I've resolved not to be so timid about the weather in future but, as others have said, if the wind is right for a favourite slope, that's most likely where I'll head.

 

Trevor

[Graham Davies 3]

Back in the day, I was not so bothered about flying in wind. However, the excellent Warboys (Ramsey RMC) site is very open and turbulence free.

 

I agree with all that's been said; wind itself isn't a big issue, but turbulence near the ground certainly can spoil your day and mess with the alignment of your airframe! Our current strip is OK unless the wind is from the North West. Then we get turbulence from some woodland around a quarter of a mile away. My personal limits are around 12 gusting to 15 0r 20 in any other direction but if the gusts are any higher than around 12 from NW, it's not much fun.

 

There's a lot of fun to be had flying in a bit of wind though. Flying stall turns and practicing both keeping the model vertical, and keeping the lines straight is quite satisfying. And walking pace (relative to the ground) rolls into a stiff steady wind is always fun...