Dynamic wind -- any example systems?

Unity Engine
1

I’m working on a flight controller for a bird simulation, not airplane. I’ve got it mostly sketched out and am starting to fill it in with code, but I want to also apply wind forces (which will effect speed and lift). Thing is, I really have no clue where to even start with that.

Is there a way to arbitrarily change my player objects mass, which would kind of simulating a change in lift? Or change the strength of gravity? Likewise, fluctuate drag and angular drag? Or is there some kind of dynamic system I can actually create that will exist in and of itself?

Not looking for someone to build my project for me, just maybe a point in the right direction or some inspiration.

2

Changing gravity will mess with other objects that use gravity. So all of Rigidbodies will go nuts.

If You ever watched a bird hit by a sudden gust of wind You will notice that their reaction is kind of slow. Their body shift on initial hit and then they adapt by shifting their body and wings.

So in my opinion best bet is to use AddForce as impulse when player gets caught by the wind and then maybe AddForce over time so player have to counter act the wind. This may lead to some problems down the road as You will need to find clever ways so that wind do not stack way too much or You can just not add force over time and just let player react only to impulse.