Practicing in Strong Winds

[Bill Glaze]

I can assure you that, on a full-size airplane, such as Boeing 720, 727,
757/67, that ground effect is severely diminished in a strong crosswind.

I imagine that the same must apply to some degree with a model.  But, it
just might be too small to notice.  That is, other, more robust factors,
might be more noticeable.


Bill Glaze

jed241 at msn.com wrote:

> <?xml:namespace prefix="v" /><?xml:namespace prefix="o" />Help a
> Rookie Thread
 Today I decided to face my fears of flying in winds
> over 10mph. The take off was uneventful and the initial turn was a bit
> bumpy. Once up to speed I was able to perform interesting loops and
> stall turns and the like for sportsman with a 20mph to 25mph wind
> (don't know what it was gusting at). I have never seen a plane fly
> over the top of the loop at a 45 degree angle to keep the loop a
> circle, then kind of flip over the top and perform the next radius
> almost at a vertical down line again to keep the loop a circle before
> the 270 degree point. I was having such great success and building
> great confidence when I then realized I need to land at some point of
> this flight and didn't try any slow passes for landing. This is when
> the pucker factor kicked in
 The 1st pass I made was too far out and
> too fast. Not intending to land just gauge the speed and learn how the
> plane was going to react. The turn off of the pass took the pucker
> factor up to the next level as a gust caught the upper wing and rolled
> me inverted. In a panic, I just kept rolling until I was upright. This
> proved to be the right decision as I think the other option to recover
> would have put me in the ground. Now came the second pass, too fast
> for airspeed and too slow for ground speed. My wings were getting
> bounced from left to right and had a difficult time keeping them
> level. Learning from the last pass I decided I didn't need to bank
> that hard for turning back on the down wind. Bumpy, but much
> smoother
 Knowing that I don't have much fuel left at this point,
> maybe two more passes tops, the pucker factor reached a new high. I'm
> way beyond the knees knocking at this point
 On the 3rd pass I lined
> up ok and started reeling it in trying to manage the throttle to save
> fuel and keep a steady airspeed above stalling. Had a good line up,
> then the wind shifted and pushed me out over the long grass in a cross
> wind gust. I had a choice to either bail the landing or feed my plane
> to the Grass Gods (2 feet tall). I decided the tall grass was a better
> idea in this situation than to try and force another landing knowing
> the fuel situation. I was able to softly feed the plane to the Grass
> Gods which in return showed it's kindness by offering a soft cushion.
> I was down finally and my son was laughing  and awing about how cool
> that landing was as I started to clean out my pants
There was no
> damage to the plane. Now the question, "When the wind is strong is
> there any air barrier close to the ground (like ground effect) that
> once you enter, it stops bouncing you around? I didn't see it when I
> put the plane in the grass which was about 2 feet tall. The one thing
> I did learn is that a bigger plane would probably handle better than
> this Aresti 40..ha... Is there a conversion factor that says what this
> wind reacts to a 40 size plane Vs a 2 meter plane? <g> I did enjoy the
> experience, but don't recommend anyone flying in a bumpy 20mph wind
> with a 40 size plane. Oh, I only had enough fuel to probably make it
> half way down the runway on the down wind leg, a tad bit more than a
> half ounce. Would like any thoughts on how the plane reacts as it gets
> closer to the ground on windy days. I fly off of a grass runway. As
> there a difference for paved runways? Larry
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.f3a.us/pipermail/nsrca-discussion/attachments/20030513/b8a0bc93/attachment.html