Gazelle crosswind landing

[Ultralights]

i personally prefer the wing down method, and in a good crosswind there is much satisfaction in being straight down the centreline, feeling the upwind wheel touchdown first, and the gentle roll onto the other wheel! i only ever seam to use a decent amount of rudder in a sideslip, and then its only to loose excess height without gaining speed.. though i will use rudder only to counter drift if its a slight crosswind up to about 5 kts.

 

 

[Guest pelorus32]

Decca,

 

Interesting discussion that you raise. I reckon that there's a much more important issue than the a/c's limitations. What are the personal limitations of each of us?

 

In a crosswind for instance how current am I on any given day? What is my personal maximum crosswind and gust limitation? What am I going to do if the conditions reach my personal limitations and I am up in the air?....

 

In my view it will only rarely be the case that the aircraft is the limitation. Knowing your own personal minima is critical to safety. My minima are different to the next guy's and it isn't a competition. My only interest is in safely living another day.

 

Kind regards

 

Mike

 

 

[facthunter]

X-wind landings

 

John mac's picture shows how it's done. You can see the position of the control surfaces clearly enough. If the gusty X-wind is 90 degrees, ie no headwind component, expect to use a bit of runway,as the prudent pilot will always add speed in gusty conditions.

 

I wouldn't use power off technique in gusty conditions either.

 

Regarding whether a manufucturer/ designer would provide a machine where you could run out of rudder authority in X-winds fairly easily ?

 

Well , the have & they do. The fin & rudder is made minimum size where speed is a major design aim, and the designer accepts the compromise. The stipulated maximum X-wind limit in the POH. would reflect this ,of course.This limit is supposed to be demonstrated & is able to be performed by a pilot of average ability (whatever that is). It is also REDUCED. to allow for things like GUSTS, WET RUNWAY etc. There is no provision for ADDING for S*** HOT FLYING ABILITY, so there you are! Of necessity sometimes you do have to GET IN, but this should be very rare if your'e fair dinkum.

 

The loss of control effectiveness is extremely speed related. This is most ably demonstrated in one engine-out flight in conventional twins, if you don't have (blue line) Vmc (a) speed, the aircraft yaws, with full rudder applied against the turn. Gain just a few knots, (if that is the margin) & you can hold it, very critical. N...

 

 

[Guest Decca]

Good call Mike. I’m open to being corrected here but firstly the PIC needs to decide for him/herself when to give the approach away, even if their limit of feeling safe is INSIDE the envelope of the operational limitations of the aircraft. This responsible & professional behavior ensures that there is no competition with the a/c, or personal desire to exceed their own or the a/c limitations whatever that may be.

 

Some will say that pilots must be trained to the limits of their a/c so when the time comes they’re able to handle a situation, but nobody should ever be criticized for deciding to go-around if they don’t feel right about the situation we’re talking about here.

 

On the other side, a PIC should be astute enough about his personal limitations to know when it’s time to hangar the a/c before those limits are exceeded. That’s professional. That’s airmanship. That’s preventing a possible disaster.

 

I hope that I’ve added to your input here Mike & you don’t feel as if I’ve created some sort of competition among us.

 

Darren thanks for your v helpful response - you’ve covered it all, as have John & Ultralights with their procedural account & advice (GREAT photo John - right a/c too).

 

Regards, Decca.