Pearls of wisdom buying a windsock

andybean

andybean

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andybean
I have scoured the internet and found various windsocks from Sportys, Spruce and the like. Anyone have personal experienc setting up a windsock. I have some property near the airport that I want to erect a permanent windsock. Was trying to find solar frame for lighting but the ones I found appear to be very expensive.
Anyone have experience with this?
 
Like everything else that touches aviation, it'll be gold-plated.

Put up a flagpole, fly Old Glory...

Anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together will be able to figure out wind speed and direction from it, and it'll look nicer.

:)
 
I was going to suggest reading an old thread about calibrating windsocks, but it was on the old AOPA board and is long gone. Those who remember it will smile, the rest will have no idea what I'm talking about.
 
Ghery said:
I was going to suggest reading an old thread about calibrating windsocks, but it was on the old AOPA board and is long gone. Those who remember it will smile, the rest will have no idea what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...

:D A classic! :D
 
Ghery said:
I was going to suggest reading an old thread about calibrating windsocks, but it was on the old AOPA board and is long gone. Those who remember it will smile, the rest will have no idea what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...

That was a classic - right up there with Lady Malibu and the one about using heat tape for deicing a plane....
 
Geico266 said:
Not familar with that classic, but is sounds like the treadmill one.


Enlighten us! :dunno:
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Written by a lady in California who was active in metrology work. Sort of tongue in cheek, sort of not. It was great. I miss her contributions.
 
andybean said:
I have scoured the internet and found various windsocks from Sportys, Spruce and the like. Anyone have personal experienc setting up a windsock. I have some property near the airport that I want to erect a permanent windsock. Was trying to find solar frame for lighting but the ones I found appear to be very expensive.
Anyone have experience with this?
Click to expand...

Used to buy windsocks when managing the airport. The standard size is 36" diameter by 12' long; anything smaller is hard to see from 1000 feet.

Red is better than orange. Orange fades to white (hard to see) and red fades to orange, sort of.

The big end that fastens to the sock frame should have a sturdy liner. The frame chafes on the sock and can wear through it quickly. The frame itself should have two rings, not one; the second ring helps keep the sock from getting wound around the pole and takes some of the wind strain.

Dan
 
We get the used windsocks from the local airport and mount it on the nearby peak. So when ridge soaring, we can "see the wind". Easier to teach wind and ridge effects to students.

The huge flag at the local off airport hotel (casino) is a better wind indicator than the on airport windsocks. You can't see the windsocks until you are inthe traffic pattern.
 
You can buy a weather station with a dedicated anemometer . . . might work better plus you can access it from the internet with an IP adapter . . . all that will probably cost less than a simple windsock . ..
 
andybean said:
Was trying to find solar frame for lighting but the ones I found appear to be very expensive.
Click to expand...

All windsock frames are outrageously priced (IMO). They want $1k for a 36" lighted frame. So, I built one for our local airport. We bought the sock itself from airportwindsocks.com and have less than $500 in the entire installation, sock, frame, tower, concrete and electrical.

Here's a few shots:

ubbthreads.php


ubbthreads.php


ubbthreads.php
 
Always interesting seeing the difference in direction/velocity between old glory on the flagpole at the FBO, the windsocks in the middle of the field, and also the 'big windsock' the nuclear power plant about 15mi north of the field
 
Ghery said:
Written by a lady in California who was active in metrology work. Sort of tongue in cheek, sort of not. It was great. I miss her contributions.
Click to expand...

Got Ron L. to show his legs, though...
 
Ghery said:
Written by a lady in California who was active in metrology work. Sort of tongue in cheek, sort of not. It was great. I miss her contributions.
Click to expand...

Got Ron L. to show his legs, though...
 
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