I've got wind....

[Spice Cat]

Along the lines of "Winter's here; how much flying are you getting in????".

Due to the recent windy weather I would ask, and bearing in mind not everyone carries a pocket anonometer;

What is the maximum wind speed that people are willing to fly in?

Not including those glider types, so sorry Timbo.

[Myron Beaumont]

SpiceCat

I bet even Timbo wasn't flying the last couple of days

[Spice Cat]

He may not have been but my fence certainly was.....

[Ultymate]

At IMAC comps I've flown in 30mph+ winds, not comfortable but then again it's the same for everyone and you don't have to fly, certainly makes flying your sequence entertaining particularly if it's cross box. As for the slopes we fly in some crazy winds but a lot depends on what gliders you have available.

[Tim Mackey]

Posted by Myron Beaumont on 06/01/2012 16:03:57:

SpiceCat

I bet even Timbo wasn't flying the last couple of days

Wrong...went Monday 70MPH+

[Eck]

At a club open day in September, 2010, the winds reached 30 miles per hour, and only 3 people flew. It was fun hand-launching Wot 4s and watching them land backwards!

[RichieW]

Been up the Orme for a quick "slope break", peaked 45 mph at the edge averaging 25mph 30ft away from the edge, then rain stopped play.

 

Tim, are you going up over the weekend ?

 

Rich

[David Gilder]

I dont know how windy I would fly a normal model in but have flown in about 25 mph.....

 

on a second not, SWMBO'd saw the thread title and replied... "stick a cork in it"!!!!!

 

Sorry peeps!! She has been punished by losing her voice!!!

Karma!!!

 

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

I find that the wind strength itself is a secondary problem. Provided the model can make at least some headway into wind I'd fly - but only if the wind was constant, which of course it rarely is!

 

So, you can have a steady 30mph blow and its OK. On the other hand you can have 5mph base with 20mph gusts and its far from OK! One of those gusts - or a sudden drop in wind speed - at the wrong moment, can really spoil your day! So while I'd fly in the first case - I might not in the second, even though the wind is lower speed in the second.

 

Also in many clubs - mine included - wind diection matters. Our strip is fixed, roughly NW is the favoured direction, with the reciprocal SE being OK but trees quite close on the climbout. So, if we have, say a north-easterly even at only 15-20mph, crosswind landings are very much the order of the day. Now if that wind is gusty as well I probably wouldn't fly an expensive model. If possible I'd get some practice at crosswind landings with a hack or something "disposable".

 

If we have a SW wind then its really tricky as there are large trees behind us on the flight line, the wind comes over those trees tumbling over the strip in heavy turbulance - not nice. Even quite low winds gusting from that direction could ground me completely.

 

BEB

[Tim Mackey]

Posted by RichieW on 06/01/2012 17:11:40:

Been up the Orme for a quick "slope break", peaked 45 mph at the edge averaging 25mph 30ft away from the edge, then rain stopped play.

 

Tim, are you going up over the weekend ?

 

Rich

Sunday is the plan.

[ken anderson.]

enrico was flying in an 80 mph wind last week ......

 

ken anderson ne...1......wind dept.

[Reno Racer]

I've got wind too, eat far too much for lunch

 

For me it depends on the model. I don't like flying the majority of my planes in anything more than a 15mph wind, although thats probably because the weather here tends to be very gusty as well and never orientated N-S like our runway!

 

Doesn't help that the wind had taken away our wind sock!

Edited By Christian Ackroyd on 06/01/2012 19:36:02

[Paul Adams]

Having learnt to fly from a slope, I love windy weather, however from a flat field with obstructions which results in turbulence, its a totally different matter. The powered flying site I use has a wood to the left, but open fields to the right. If the wind is blowing from the right, its great fun. If however its blowing from the left (over the trees), the air is very turbulent and flying is not enjoyable.

[Ian Jones]

Wind is okay as long as it's steady - to a point of course, I'm guessing at 25-30 mph max but that's pretty rare.

 

Before I go flying I always look at the gust forecast and the difference between that and the mean wind speed. 10 gusting 22 seems common around us and a difference of 10 mph is okay, I just choose a model to suit. Sometimes though it's 8 gusting 35 which is okay for flying but presents some pretty ugly landings so I don't fly when the difference is as great as that.