I prove that you don't have to be smart to fly in
gusty winds on day two with a new plane!
Photo and video by Tom Hintz
Posted - 3-2-2021
The accompanying video was shot on a day with gusty winds in the 20 to 25 mph range at times. Plus, those winds were coming generally from my back and alternating quartering across the runway from the left and right, something that happens at our RC Wingers field quite often.
I have lots of confidence in Flex Innovations aircraft and the Aura 8 flight control system they come with. No doubt, that combination made it possible to make four flights in these conditions with no related damage to the plane. But that is the best thing I can say about flying in conditions like this. This was my second day flying the Flex Innovations Mamba, and the first with the Aura 8 set to the “Extreme” Mode.
I gave it my best try but retreated to sanity halfway through flight 4. I was not learning much about the Mamba and putting it in harm’s way unnecessarily, so I packed it up to fly another day. This is a fun plane to fly as I discovered on the maiden day and I do not want to kill it trying to show the wind who is boss, which of course, it is, not me.
I am a fan of flying in some windy conditions as it gives me many more days at the field. However, since air molecules do not scale down to our planes, the impact of higher winds on them and their remarkably light weight can be dramatic.
Considering the financial investment and often long hours of construction and care, discretion is certainly the better part of valor.