Tailwind and disc flight

[basket_case]

Just out of curiosity, how much does tailwind affect a throw off the tee. I'm talking about a 300 ft + throw.
I know it supposedly causes a disc to drop faster, but does it increase the glide any on faster discs?

[mrsenortyler]

Throwing a disc with more glide will go farther downwind. Faster discs don't really glide more downwind, they might have just gone further before they started to drop due to the wind. Am I way off base here?

Here is a cool chart from an article Ron wrote.

[basket_case]

Thanks for posting that.

I knew today's practice session was too good to be true. This means I'm going to have to throw hole 3 again when there is no wind and compare the results.

[the_lung]

Just out of curiosity, how much does tailwind affect a throw off the tee. I'm talking about a 300 ft + throw.
I know it supposedly causes a disc to drop faster, but does it increase the glide any on faster discs?

It does cause the disc to drop faster, but it also increases the glide and extends the total flight of the disc if thrown properly. Depending on your technique and wind strength, I think 20% extra is probably the realistic maximum you can typically expect. If you normally throw 300 ft. on flat ground, excuting a high turnover shot that catches the tailwind just right could add 60 ft. to its flight. If you normally top out at 400 on flat ground, you could probably get 480 with a nice tailwind. If you're a big arm who normally throws 500 ft., you could add another 100 ft. or more with a tailwind shot.

Just my observations.

[Schoen-hopper]

The key with maximizing distance in tailwind situations is to throw a disc with more glide.

One time I was throwing distance shots with a sustained 50mph tailwind. Time after time the drivers would tail out before they were done flying. Understable drivers did a lot better for distance. What flew the farthest? Putters! They were the only discs that would stay up in the air.

That was rediculous wind though. Understable drivers fly much further in tailwinds for me than overstable or neutral.

[basket_case]

That does sound about right. I usually do throw about 300', sometimes as much as 330' or 340'. But on hole 3 West I throw past the the short setting
several times. One of my Wraiths was no less than 40' past the basket (about 350'). And it was the Wraiths that were going that far. Only once did a Destroyer make it past, and it was only about 10' past. Normally, my best throws are about 40' short of the basket.

I didn't try putters, but now I that's on the to do list.

[Schoen-hopper]

Downhill has even more effect on distance than tailwind. Seen the youtube shots of people throwing 1000's of feet across a fjord?

[basket_case]

I think I did see that. I didn't realize it was 1000's of feet though.

[smitty]

Try a Meteor with a tail wind, it will go a mile.

[ronconversjr]

XL's, Squall's, and even the Comet will BOMB with a tailwind. The trick is to give a little extra height and throw something that doesn't need a lot of air-speed to keep it flying. The Meteor is probably one of the top discs for this. Remember, the disc thinks it's going slower because of the tailwind. Really fast discs tend to hyzer out, and as soon as the edge drops so does the disc.