Hello John,
Actually many of us have noticed this. There are many tradeoffs we make when we pick a prop/motor/airplane combo. Probably the best description I read of this tradeoff was written by Igor maybe two years ago, when he explained that under some circumstances, having a smaller diameter prop as compared to the airplane's mass and allowing momentum to trade-off against the supposed-ideal of constant airspeed could be beneficial in some wind conditions. Of course, the wind-up in maneuvers will worsen.
Yes, maybe some of us would dial in 1 or 2 tenths of a second faster in such conditions.
Others like Igor and Erik from Holland are working on "smart-power". Hopefully they never have Toyota-like throttles.

Cheers,
   Dean P.

Hi John,
In wind, I do prefer to wind in a little extra rpm. I fly mainly with APC 12 x 6 E props that I set at 9000rpm in calm weather, and 9200 in the wind. This by the way, is at 5000 ft. above sea level. Down at the coast, I go down below 9000 to around 8800 rpm. So my spread of rpm change is around 200 rpm. The big thing is that although the motor does not "kick in" on the uphills, it does not go any faster on the downhills, and this is more important to me. Having flown diesels this way for many years, I am used to a "more-or-less" constant rpm way of flying. In calm conditions, not much beats a 2/4 break type of engine run, but in turbulence the 2/4 break wet set-up will usually not work well and kick-in where it shouldn't. The big bore engines like the PA 75's, RO-Jetts and others seem to resist this tendency a little better. I've flown Rob Mekemeijer's Yatsenko Shark with his own long stroke 6-port .77 in some rough stuff and it just purr's through the pattern using a 14" 3-bladed prop. On the same day however, my electric stunter felt just as good and even smoother with similar power. The motor (MVVS 6,5/910) is rated as a .40 glow, but certainly has a lot more power.

A steady wind is not the real problem, it is the gusty turbulence. Fly anywhere near trees, buildings etc. in strong wind and you'll feel the difference. With the electric stuff, it is quite easy to program the motor to add power when it is loaded, and as Igor and Erik Janssen have shown, you can use gyro's and accelerometers to kick in and out. The real issue here is to know exactly what we really want.....and when. For now, until the guru's have come up with a better solution, the best compromise is to hold the rpm constant, and at least you know exactly what you have. With electric, the added benefit is knowing that what you have, is going to be "what you have" every time you switch on.

Keith R

John,

There is a trick that many use in the high wind situations. On the level lap before going into the RW start walking in a small circle (like 4ft dia) leading the ship. As you get to the the entry half lap put the circle tight then enter the up wind part, this give a little extra speed to get you over. Usually you don't need to do this on the inverted half cause the dive adds the speed but in high wind you can do the same trick. Practice this a few time in calm conditions to get use to it. It also works well on the hourglass and clover.

Best,                    DennisT

Hi John, It sounds to me like you are not using the governor mode in the Phoenix esc, so check this first and then don't use the setting in the JMP timer that adds throttle over time. If this is the case and you are indeed running without the governor, then flying in wind is a nightmare.

Keith R