lyricon said:
Very true about flying in strong wind. Quite often though the ground wind seems mild but the winds @ 100' are quite different. I knew I was pushing it on the day I discribed. I don't feel I was out if control at any point. I can just see how things could go bad fast if the quad got into some wind that wasn't being experienced on the ground. Add to that a mistake with orientation and the quad could go further. All the videos I've seen of the RTH function the quad is approaching slowly. I wonder how much it can compensate for wind when returning home? Could this explain some of the lost quads? Certainly this doesn't apply to the ones that flay away at full throttle.
I've been thinking about making a post about winds and possible Phantom trouble because of them for some time. I don't be any means think that winds are the sole cause of flyaways, but I would like to relate this and let you decide.
I put in about 350 hours flying scale gliders back in the 90's, and have had some first hand experiences with winds near the surface that most folks don't get to study, even as a power pilots. To support exactly what lyricon said, the wind on the ground may be quite different than they are not too far over your head.
So, I used to fly at Calistoga, CA, and in the wintertime after a front moved through a dandy mountain wave often built near the field. The wave above about 4,000' was sometimes very strong, with 200-300 ft./min. lift, and I was once at 14,000', still climbing when I had to quite because we didn't have oxygen. That's how good the wave was there at times. For grins, you may want to google "mountain wave" and "wave rotor" if you aren't familiar with those terms.
Below 3,000', though, the "rotor" could be vicious. The fast moving tumbling air made the tow up through the rotor to get to the laminar flow air of the wave "Mr. Frog's Wild Ride" for sure. On such days I can remember it could be completely calm at the surface, and then the rotor would dip down and toss garbage cans around like sandwich wrappers. Then, the rotor would recede and leave placid air underneath for awhile.
So, my point is that a person could have come there on such a day and launched a Phantom into fine, sunny weather in complete confidence, and then had it utterly clobbered 100' over their head seemingly out of nowhere. I can pretty much guarantee those conditions would have been big trouble for something as light as a quad.
Of course, mountain waves don't exist just anywhere, and they don't regularly toss garbage cans if they are present. However, my point is that winds aloft are very variable, especially around terrain - and the terrain doesn't have to be in close proximity. What's to do about that? I don't know. To determine what's up there, you pretty much have to go there, which is the problem. Just be aware of the potential for trouble, and try to be ready to react if you bird starts acting strangely. That's my plan anyway.
Sorry for the long post.
P.S. Another tip about winds - don't fly straight at objects (like a house, or even a tall wall) from downwind. The downward component of the airflow will likely drive you right into it before you can veer away. As one instructor described the situation, "you'll be looking right at the spot you're going to die!" Since he put it so nicely, I have never forgotten it.