Disclaimer - I've read the very helpful and much-linked discraft article on wind affects, but I am still struggling with this direction more than any other (RHBH). This is most often a problem if I need a fairly straight shot on this line. I get this headwind a lot in my yard during fieldwork and today it was driving me bonkers. Trying to hit the imaginary tunnel to my practice basket and was having very little luck. Using my teebirds for example as I have a good range of stabilities in them:
- Beat, flippy DX bird - If thrown on anything but a hyzer flip this will turn & burn badly due to the headwind. I've made this shot in practice a few times but it is SO hard to get the hyzer angle just right. To much hyzer and the wind catches it before it can flip up and it goes hard left. Too little and it'll just turn over. Just hit one correctly today in the yard and it was a thing of beauty...dead straight down the imaginary tunnel in my yard...but not something I can readily repeat.
- Starlight bird (nicely seasoned)- a bit easier to get the angle right on as it is more stable, but the larger fade makes it very susceptible to having the wind catch the bottom of the flight plate during the fade and sending it wide left. Also less distance (much secondary concern).
- GStar bird (still pretty OS) - The easiest to not screw up, but at a price. To keep it in the "tunnel" I pretty much have to release it flat and very low. It won't turn into the wind (unless its crazy windy) and I need to keep it low enough that it essentially doesn't get the chance to fade out. This costs me bigtime in distance but keeps me out of the imaginary schule.
Now, obviously if I had more room to work with I could use the wind and play the extra fade, but in a scenario where that isn't an option I am having a heck of a time now. So is this just a matter of experience and time to learn the angles needed on that hyzerfip? Is there something else I'm missing? The other recommended line (flex and OS disc) wouldn't be an option as there isn't the room to work with.
http://discraft.com/res_wind06_p2.html
- Beat, flippy DX bird - If thrown on anything but a hyzer flip this will turn & burn badly due to the headwind. I've made this shot in practice a few times but it is SO hard to get the hyzer angle just right. To much hyzer and the wind catches it before it can flip up and it goes hard left. Too little and it'll just turn over. Just hit one correctly today in the yard and it was a thing of beauty...dead straight down the imaginary tunnel in my yard...but not something I can readily repeat.
- Starlight bird (nicely seasoned)- a bit easier to get the angle right on as it is more stable, but the larger fade makes it very susceptible to having the wind catch the bottom of the flight plate during the fade and sending it wide left. Also less distance (much secondary concern).
- GStar bird (still pretty OS) - The easiest to not screw up, but at a price. To keep it in the "tunnel" I pretty much have to release it flat and very low. It won't turn into the wind (unless its crazy windy) and I need to keep it low enough that it essentially doesn't get the chance to fade out. This costs me bigtime in distance but keeps me out of the imaginary schule.
Now, obviously if I had more room to work with I could use the wind and play the extra fade, but in a scenario where that isn't an option I am having a heck of a time now. So is this just a matter of experience and time to learn the angles needed on that hyzerfip? Is there something else I'm missing? The other recommended line (flex and OS disc) wouldn't be an option as there isn't the room to work with.
http://discraft.com/res_wind06_p2.html
discraft site said:In the case of a right to left headwind (CD, fig. 3), a less stable disc can be thrown with hyzer on a much shallower arc. It must be kept low and allowed to straighten. A more stable disc with anhyzer will turn over slightly in the wind and then hook sharply back at the end of its flight. In both cases it is important to keep the line a little lower than normal. Watch out for the skip at the end of the flight because the wind pushes will be enhancing the natural right to left of the discs flight; the edge of the disc will "open up" to the wind as it slows. Step up to a slightly more overstable disc than you'd choose for normal wind conditions.