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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: Motorman on April 16, 2015, 09:49:04 PM
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Can someone give me a range of wind speed that is reasonable to fly the full pattern in. The weather service around here has the wind at 11 mph but the trees and houses around my field turn that into a real washing machine. It's hard to get anything done with the plane wing waggin' all over the place.
Thanks,
MM
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It all depends on how turbulent the air is. Very turbulent at 10 knots can be near impossible to fly in, yet clean air at 15 is a dead cinch. You will have to determine what that combination is for your skill lever, state of trim of your plane, the motor run, and your desire to fight the wind.
Sometimes it is better to be safe than sorry.
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As the current endurance record holder, you should be able to keep it in the air until conditions are good LL~
Just kidding. I didn't know what event #332 was until I looked it up. Anyway, I understand that certain planes handle better in the wind. Maybe a particular plane would help out.
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It depends on turbulence and whether there's thermals. My usual practice field is on a shelf between a bluff coming down from the high lands and a bluff going down to a river, on the inside of a bend. There's one magic direction where the wind comes in steadily -- otherwise the wind roll over one bluff or another and be turbulent. Moreover, the CL field is in a pocket in the trees where thermals like to stall for a while before they detach.
We've had wind that blows one way on the ground and another at 50 feet up, wind that shifts from blowing strongly in one direction for one maneuver to blowing 180 degrees out for the next, wind that's in your face no matter where you turn (that's when you wish you were flying a thermal machine), wind that's absolutely dead calm for months, and every once in a great while, wind that's strong and steady in one direction.
At the Fall Follies in Salem last year we had a dust devil come through and smack a plane out of the sky in Advanced -- then it played with the pieces for about a minute before it finally let go of all the little bits. I'm not sure if any but the best wind pilot would have been able to save things.
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With a good stunt ship design, decent wing loading and well trimmed, the use of a tuned pipe helps take some to a lot of the wind away. And as already been mentioned, some airplanes handle the wind better than others. So, there is no clear answer to the question.
Kieth
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Once the wind gets over 1/3 the plane speed everything gets much more difficult. In your case, the turbulence probably means flying when the wind is less than 7mph or so. Gusts and turbulence are obviously much harder to deal with than a smooth breeze.
Phil C
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At our field here in Kansas we have a lot of gusty wind. It might only be blowing 12 or 15 but gusting to 24 or so. Since I only fly Old Time mostly, I will fly my big ignition planes in the wind but leave out the vertical 8's and overhead 8's if it is real hard. I can get thru all of the other stunts in the Old Time pattern without to much trouble. If I get to the field and it is blowing really hard I will still put up a flight or two and just do some lazy 8's and a few loops just for fun. It is also a good time to try different props to see what works best in bad conitions. It is 26 miles to the field and I hate to waste a trip.