Bit too blowy

[Steve W-O]

Wanted to try some changes on the Funcub today, got there nice and early

 

And the wind speed measured around 10mph.

 

That was until after I took off. I think the wind was watching.

 

Approaches were from about 80deg up, and just in the general direction of the field, landing rolls were at longest 6" Couldn't taxi into the wind, as soon as it started to move on the ground, it took off, shutting the motor down just meant it blew over onto its back.

 

Any one who thinks the Funcub lands itself should try it in a bit of a breeze, certainly good practice for quick corrections.

 

Decided after four flights it would be wise to leave it for the day while I was still enjoying it.

[Phil May]

Nice photo Steve, what time was that

 

Phil

[fly boy3]

I second that Phil. A little off topic, but would the wind sock be at that angle at only 10mph ?. or is it a lightweight sock, if there is such a thing. Cheers.

[Paul Marsh]

At the moment, here, the sock would be going upwards! Too windy to fly.

'Tis blowing a howling gale.

[Tom T]

Here in Spalding, Lincolnshire it is far to windy to fly.... Its not the wind that is the problem its the gusting, when you get 3 feet off the ground and about to land and then it gusts, the wing flips right over and theres know chance of recovery... not worth it but the weather looks good for the end of this week and the start of next weekend, not alot of wind and sunny intervals forecasted here.

[leccyflyer]

Too windy to be comfortable for flying here in the NW today, though I guess some hardy souls will risk it. A day for pottering perhaps?

[Phil May]

Or take a walk up a slope and chuck a foamie off.

 

Phil

[leccyflyer]

Yeah, I keep saying I'll do that, but it doesn't happen.

[Phil May]

I was like that for 2 years then a mate of mine introduced to the black art of slopeing and never looked back.

 

Give it a go, trust me you'll love it

 

Phil

[Devon Flyer]

Blowing 25 mph here at the moment......................guess where I'm off to?

Clue: It involves chucking an expensive model off a cliff.

[Steve W-O]

Posted by Big Phil on 23/10/2011 10:15:16:

Nice photo Steve, what time was that

 

Phil

 

It was about 7:30, I didn't fly until it was light enough to see properly.

 

 

Good point on the wind speed and wind sock. But I'm not going to climb up the pole , so I can only measure it on the ground.

 

The wind was coming over a 6' high brush hedge, and the ground there is a bit uneven, so with the gusts it can be quite testing.

 

I know there are some who will say that the plane knows nothing about the wind, so I will have to accept that there are black forces at work, as on a still day, the Funcub will fly the whole leg of a circuit hands-off, but this morning, if you left the controls, it was going all over the place, including sharply up or down.

 

It is not really that bad, the only problem could be at touch down, and with the slow ground speed, a complete write-off is probably unlikely.

 

[Mowerman]

A fellow club member phoned at 11 this morning to say that conditions were good and lots of us were going to the field.

I had my doubts as my wind meter ( a tall Fir tree three doors away) was doing a jig but I loaded a couple of models, a flask and some lunch into the car and drove to the field.

It was blowing a gale so a dozen of us huddled between the walls outside the field, watched a couple of brave (foolhardy) souls fly, had a natter, ate our sandwiches, cursed the weather gods then drove home.

I really must get back into slope soaring !

Edited By Mowerman on 23/10/2011 17:04:16

[Devon Flyer]

With the wind we've had all year, I reckon I'm having a sloping to power ratio of about 10:1.

It's got to the point where two of my power models haven't had a single outing this year.

Seriously considering knocking it on the head and going 100% slope.

[Paul Marsh]

It seems to be always windy. Have flown quite a bit, but always in a breeze.

Just goes to show, I haven't flown my Super 60, Tiger Moth or Majestic Major for 2 years, now.There have been calm days, but one could count them on one hand.

Edited By Paul Marsh on 23/10/2011 17:32:43

[Codename-John]

fair weather flyers, your all chickens lol,

our site is on top of a big hill really out in the open, if we didnt fly in wind i think we`d have about 10 days a year to fly, i maidened my new kyosho spitfire 50 in it today, using the short runway cos of the direction, had a bit of a heavy landing cos it just would not come down, had to hold the nose down and force it downwards and then 10 ft off the ground sods law the wind dropped, nothing a bit of under carriage straightening didnt sort out but the way the years been i`d be waiting until next april to maiden it otherwise

 

 

[Garry Pollard]

Cou;dnt agree more Niel. If you cant fly in windy conditions take up another hobby. I fly twice a week, and apart from a couple of times it has been raining, I never miss my sessions. I average 8 to 10 flights per session, and fly 6 to 7 ib models, all on electric. Yes, ok I have had a couple of prangs this year, but hasten to add both were in calm conditions. This country is windy, FACT.

 

Garry

[flytilbroke]

Here in the NORTHWEST, we experienced the first calm, warmish day for many weeks. It did not even start raining till 2:30pm. The view of Ben Nevis was really nice, Back to the workshop, nope, not for repairs, still trying to get an engine in a cowl to stay cool enough to keep working.

[Paul Marsh]

I still fly in the wind. Can easily handle the wind, using the appropriate airframe. Just not as fun, fighting the conditions. Also it's cold.

[Devon Flyer]

Posted by Garry Pollard on 23/10/2011 19:14:46:

Cou;dnt agree more Niel. If you cant fly in windy conditions take up another hobby.

I can fly in any wind that's flyable - it's just that when it gets that high you can have more fun on the slope.

[Jonathan Kimber]

Hello All - This is my first post since returning to RC flight having had a break of about 15 years!

 

 

I cut my teeth as a schoolboy on an extremely limited budget. I bought the cheapest kit build 2 channel glider in RCM&E in about 1990 for slope soaring. I used brown packing tape as the wing covering and didnt bother with the fuselage, i sprayed it bright green just to make it a bit water repellant. Green, because that was the can of spray paint i managed to find.

 

I quite literally couldnt afford a crash so spent hours on end chucking it in a field to get a feel for the glide. The big moment arrived and i chucked it off Roundway hill in Devizes. My first flight was long enough for me to get the hang of it and practice a few landing circuits. It was such a a great flying site that i soon really got the hang of it. I suppose my RC car experience helped with left right / right left etc.

 

Anyway, onto the wind side of things, my lovely little glider needed patching up every now and then so more and more packing tape went on and more spray paint was added. It got heavier and uglier and some of the regular Roundway fliers nicknamed it the Green Gilbert (or the flying snot). Due to its weight, but fairly decent wing area it was often the only plane in the sky when it got a bit windy. If it got really windy we'd simply add more leads to the top of the wing above the CofG with, you guessed it, packing tape and throw her off again!

 

The lessons I learnt in all of this is that yes, it is harder and more twitchy to fly in the wind but a heavier plane helps. I also learnt that pushing your limits makes you a better flyer. I progressed from 2ch slpoe soaring to 3 channel then 4 channel power. Still being short of dosh i borrowed some radio gear off a friend and an OS25 of another. I chose a power trainer that could take a different wing so i went from a trainer wing with dihedral to a straight wing with ailerons. Again, no bad accidents and good progress with my learning. All new manoevers were practised at height as crashing simply wasnt an option. the OS 25 (bottom of the recommended power range) and slope soaring taught me to conserve momentum and be smooth with my flying. I took my BMFA A and B certificates and became a proficient flyer in ALL conditions. I remember a day at Wroughton (Swindon Model Club) where quite literally a few of us were taking off with negative groundspeed. I still only had my lowly OS25 but fitted to a more aerobatic plane with loads of lift and a symettrical flat wing.

 

Now i have 3 kids a job that consumes lots of my time and I saw electric as a great way to have a quick flight or two when time allowed. I have a Dynax Extra 330 (cheap and cheerful ARTF combo) and whilst there were teething issues with me getting back into flying and the plane itself i am now back in the groove. I have the same attitude as before with my learning, steady and cautious. I did two rolls yesterday, into wind, at height. Getting to know the feel of the plane and making my fingers remember what they have to do. I might try a stall turn or two next flight. I spent the majority of my flight doing circuits and low fly bys so that when landing time came i wasn't overawed by the task!

 

Anyway, as we're on the subject of wind I always found that once in the air it was never as bad as it felt on the ground. I remember a couple of occasion where a gust practically knife edged my aircraft and it is occassions like this that get your flying reactions up to speed and the necessary skills to fly in harsh conditions. My advice, despite not currently being a top notch flyer, would be to get onto the slope with a 'sacrificial' trainer and push your limits. Then, when flying more valuable planes, you have the skills to cope with higher wind speeds.

 

Of course this sounds great but you will never get away from a hedge line creating turbulence or a plane that simply doesnt have the throws or controls to react to a non scale gust that flips it over. This is where you need to be realistic and choose the right model for the occassion but get out there and tape a load of lead to the CoG. Dont forget if there is wind there is more airspeed and lift available.

 

Cheers for reading, hopefully I will learn and contribute more in the coming months.

 

Jono

[fly boy3]

Nice post Jonathan, and welcome back. Re the wind, decided to fly my Tom Wright designed Twin Boom, foam and balsa model in 20mph + winds. Flew very well indeed, until I tried to land it into a very naughty  head wind. It just would not come down the last 3 feet. Eventually I cut the motor and she hovered a few seconds then landed vertically on to the concrete strip. Tom did say she could take some stick, no damage what so ever. Cheers

Edited By fly boy3 on 20/11/2011 11:27:33

[Jonathan Kimber]

Thanks fly boy, at least when the wind is blowing so hard you only have to worry about vertical movement when landing. No scraping and cartwheeling down the runway! I remember the effort getting models down sometimes, must be ground effect keeping a cushion of air between the model and the ground. Sometimes i think you have to add a bit more power and literally fly them into the ground, in a controlled manner of course if you can help it!

 

I must say that my revival has been enjoyable but fraught. I knew that i'd get back into it so i chose a model that would offer a bit of sport at the expense of a steep learning curve again. I think yesterday was a turning point in my learning curve and i'm back to my fingers doing stuff automatically, allowing me to think a bit more about what i want to do instead of letting the plane fly me!

 

All my flying is from a little field i have by my house, if time permits i might check out my local club but i have a feeling that woudl just be far too time consuming. The idea is a quick 30 mins round trip from my shed to the field and back before resuming DIY or childcare duties.

 

Happy Landings everyone!

 

Jono

[fly boy3]

You are quite right Jonathan,in these conditions you have to fly the model all the way down as you say. Apart from that, if we waited for non windy days we would never fly. LoL. It is also good practice. Cheers Fb3