Too windy to fly???

[Ron Gray]

The last few posts have really highlighted the fact that the wind, in itself, is not the issue, it's the turbulence that the wind creates and, I believe, the mindset. Take my grandson, he didn't know what turbulence was or what effect it could have but then again he didn't have to take off or land the model, that was down to me. He could fly around in total ignorance of that potential issue but I would love to get him up to the level where he can take off and land as I think his reactions will be a lot quicker than mine so it would be interesting to see how he coped and if it fazed him at all. An interesting experiment to come!

[Graham Davies 3]

Definitely a mindset thing Ron. I know personally that once something is in your mind, you relax less and consequently are less able to make what would otherwise be normal, natural corrections. Once you get into a 'I dunno what all the fuss is about' frame of mind, the wind* becomes far less of an issue.

 

*Meteorological wind, just to be clear...

Edited August 24, 2021 by Graham Davies 3

[Ron Gray]

As they say, wind becomes more of an issue the older you get.

[Alan Hilton]

On 13/08/2021 at 14:23, Geoff S said:

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!

I got the remains and rebuilt it .Its a 1/4 scale leopard moth G ACUS I’m selling because my knackered back won’t cope with large models anymore which is a shame because it flys well and looks the part

[Alan Hilton]

4 hours ago, Ron Gray said:

As they say, wind becomes more of an issue the older you get.

Your not kidding Ron I usually blame the anchovies 

[Don Fry]

Loosing weight, I would say, it’s the foraged fruit, veg, and nuts eaten raw. 
 

But in a wind;

big,

heavy,

fast

 

is good. 

[Peter Jenkins]

There are a number of issues with flying in windy conditions.  A light weight foamie can struggle to say in the same countie.

 

OTOH, if you plan ahead, as you should, and make sure you never go downwind past where you are standing and go much further upwind you can avoid that nssty feeling of fighting a losing battle as you try and bring your foamie back from a long way downwind.

 

The other dodge is to use a gyro on the ailerons that you can switch in and out.  Approaching in turbulent conditions becomes a lot easier as the gyro deals with the turbulence.  However, the gyro can be overpowered if the available control authority is insufficient to counter the turbulence!

 

Carrying out a much steeper approach than in calm weather also helps.  There is a more pronounced wind gradient in windy conditions.  As the aircraft descends at a higher speed than normal you have enhanced control authority.  As the aircraft descends through the wind gradient, the wind speed drops so the model's airspeed may drop (if its not a light weight foamie able to react instantly to power application) which is what you want as you have to land at the right speed.  A steeper approach also means you get through the turbulence faster.

 

Finally, there is no substitute for being in flying practice.  If you are not able to fly regularly and often, you will not feel at one with your model.  That will lead to you ending up behind the aeroplane and struggling to maintain control.  Indeed in some instances a pilot reacting slowly makes things worse - it's called pilot induced oscillation (PIO).  That rarely ends well when the ground is close and reaching up for you!

 

 

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Flying in the winds good for you, you're at it all the time on the sticks, you know wind direction so you're aware of what may catch you out landing, couple of flys in the wind teaches you far more than a flat calm session does, also builds your confidence, few clicks of down trim now n again so it penetrates on landings.

[Don Fry]

Mick Reeves used to say, why does a biplane get relegated to calm conditions. Put some down trim in. 

[Mike Chantler]

A good bit of wind is always good for more relaxed slope soaring  ?. Less wind means less lift, constantly flying near stall, near  ground, more sink, more tip stalls ... sense of insecurity builds up lol.

 

of course it means you've taken the wrong model up the hill, again.  ??

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Mike Chantler

[Geoff S]

On 24/08/2021 at 18:01, Alan Hilton said:

I got the remains and rebuilt it .Its a 1/4 scale leopard moth G ACUS I’m selling because my knackered back won’t cope with large models anymore which is a shame because it flys well and looks the part

 

Very pleased to read that.  I always admired it.

 

Geoff

[Jonathan M]

I haven't flown since the Spring (don't ask!) but a week ago I took the Ahi to a local micro-slope in windy westerly conditions and had good fun.  Obviously if the wind was a little more in the NW I'd have flown the Middle Phase in much bigger skies off the main slope... but arranging these things is beyond me.

 

Late afternoon today I took the IC Boomerang up the patch.  As it was blowing 15-22mph, therefore significantly increasing the usual slope-lift/sink and turbulence, I was happily the only person there.  I'd have quickly become frazzled flying, say, the IC Wot 4 balsa ARTF, but the heavy Boomerang is my go-to model for such windy weather.  (As it happens, I'd just fitted a finer-pitched prop to slow the beast for landings - it bullets on endlessly in lighter winds - but for some reason landing-runs were pretty short as it was...!)

[Olaf Pedersen]

A good way of gauging if it's too windy is to place the model on the ground, with radio off and the elevators set to up. Point it into the wind and let go of it.

If the wind blows it away, it's too windy for that model.

[Ron Gray]

29 minutes ago, Olaf Pedersen said:

If the wind blows it away, it's too windy for that model

Not too sure I agree with that, for me it usually means I have the opportunity to fly the ‘plane backwards (in relation to the ground)!

[Peter Jenkins]

51 minutes ago, Olaf Pedersen said:

A good way of gauging if it's too windy is to place the model on the ground, with radio off and the elevators set to up. Point it into the wind and let go of it.

If the wind blows it away, it's too windy for that model.

 

Hmm - if I were to do that, I wouldn't be able to fly on about 50% of the time.  You do need to build up to it and have a model that is not, for example, a light weight foamie which cannot fly faster than the wind speed.

 

You can fly most 40 size trainers and sports models in much windier conditions than most pilots choose.  As I said earlier, the issue is whether you have turbulence on the approach.  At one site I used to fly at, anything over 10 kts coming with a south element to it was not worth risking.  I've flown in 20 kt 90 deg cross winds at other sites where landing wasn't a heart in the mouth affair, provided you knew how to land in a cross wind.  That's not the best time to try a cross wind landing for the first time!

[Don Fry]

Peter is right.
But, I have better things to do, than fight it to achieve control.

I used to work. I would consent to fight it in free time.

When work is, to me, a mere memory, I fly the fleet in scale winds. 
Keep paying my pensions Peter, et al. Thank you. 

[Peter Jenkins]

Steady on Don, I think the majority on here might be of pensionable age ?

[Jonathan M]

Its never too windy to fly...

 

 

[Ron Gray]

It was blowing a bit last week and to cap it all it was a cross wind, blew two dust off my Wots Wot XL powered by a Laser 180 and had a bit of fun. Sorry the camera was pointing a bit low!