pgrover516 Posted at 2016-4-14 12:23
keep in mind that RTH speed is much slower than your top speed so it can be blown backwards on a d ...

Yes. I definitely look up the wind speed and direction before flying, although on the day of this flight, I was having such a good time that I ended up having to fly back against the wind. Luckily the wind was not too bad and I was able to make it back no problem.

It will fly fine in the wind as others have said.  One thing to remember is don't fly too far downwind  You could run out of battery power before the aircraft gets back to you.  I keep an eye on my groundspeed as I fly away from me.  If it's greater than 30mph, I know that I have a tailwind and need to allow extra time to get back.  If I'm full power and only going 15MPH, then I know I'm going into the wind and will get back fairly quickly.  Imagine yourself in a canoe trying to paddle upstream.  Same concept.  The faster the stream, the harder you paddle.  That being said, your battery won't last as long in high winds because the aircraft is working harder to compensate for the wind--even when trying to hover.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-4-13 08:52
The windmill was hardly turning? It looks like you just flew right into it?

Looks can deceive.  We've been out photographing that windmill for years trying for the right sunrise/sunset shot across the prairie.  It a shorty with it's platform reachable from the ground.  Here's a shot my buddy took of me reaching the platform from the ground in 2009.  You'll also notice the stock tank it used to pump to is gone.  The well is dry and the windmill is locked.  It takes at least a 20 mph wind to overcome the brake and make it turn at all.  The vane is pinned so it won't turn with the wind.



If you go back and look at the video again, you'll see at the start in the background, the windmill starts turning [that was the first clue I shouldn't have tried to fly it].  You'll also notice at :34 how much wind gust I'm fighting by the angle the P3P takes to get to the windmill [we call that another clue this was stupid to fly at that point].  At 1:07 you can see the wind trying to move the pinned vane, and the windmill starts turning again at 1:10 [another of those "clues"].    You can also notice the windmill speed changes several times and the vane is trying to move back and forth as the winds shift.

This was just another one of those stupid human tricks.  Had I used common sense, I would have never launched in the shifting winds at ground level - knowing full well what happens as they shift across the open prairie in NM.  

However, you're incorrect thinking I flew into it.  I checked my log to see if I did that.  Log shows at that point, there was no command stick input - it was hovering.

The reason I want to make it clear to what happened is for others to understand that if you choose to fly in winds over about 10 mph at ground level, you're normally flying in winds of 15 or higher, and often gusting, at higher altitudes.  If you're flying at higher elevations, over barren prairies it's worse - especially so when you get too close to something.

One last warning.  If you're going out to the prairies to fly - you might want to watch your step.  Taken the same day as the above.