Flying Lesson #14 Crosswind Landings

[Romeo Juliet Whiskey]

With a gusty 10-15kt wind blowing perpendicular to the main runway, its a perfect day for a lesson in crosswind landings My instructor thought I did pretty well, but I was a bit annoyed that I continued to land left of that damn centreline!

 

 

 

 

[DrZoos]

Yep, learn to use those wings....jam em over hard and early and get back on the center line...

 

You're in control of the aircraft, not the wind!

 

 

[djpacro]

Treat every landing as a xwind landing.

 

 

[DrZoos]

Another great exercise is to fly along the centerline 15-30 feet AGL and hold the centre line in crosswinds...take the hold off and rondout out of the equation....so you can isolate the skill and perfect it. Practice both crabbing and wing down.

 

 

[rmorton]

Treat every landing as a xwind landing.

As a newbee I think I know what you mean, but I have only done a few crosswind landings. What I found helped my calmer days was to make the approach with wings lightly dipped to one side and a touch of opposite rudder. It made for better visibility and I was better able to correct my tendency to always land to the left of the centre line.

 

 

[Romeo Juliet Whiskey]

Treat every landing as a xwind landing.

Yep...thats exactly what I do. No matter what the wind is doing Im keeping the nose straight with rudder and maintaining (trying) centreline with aileron. When I break it down to those two simple steps its pretty easy.

 

 

[Romeo Juliet Whiskey]

Another great exercise is to fly along the centerline 15-30 feet AGL and hold the centre line in crosswinds...take the hold off and rondout out of the equation....so you can isolate the skill and perfect it. Practice both crabbing and wing down.

Agreed....this is one of the best exercises I did in my early training. Also good exercise to get familiar with the controls of a new airplane.

 

 

[facthunter]

Landing consistently to one side is a habit you must overcome. It's usually to the side you are sitting . You are not the only one who has done it. As an exercise try to land slightly on the other side, and see how that goes. Unless you don't hold off for very long, the wing down must be used in smaller planes without much inertia in crosswinds.. Touch down on one wheel and at point of contact, there should be no sideload at all if you are doing it right. Never let the upwind wing get high, in a significant crosswind. Nev

 

 

[rmorton]

Landing consistently to one side is a habit you must overcome. It's usually to the side you are sitting . You are not the only one who has done it. As an exercise try to land slightly on the other side, and see how that goes. Unless you don't hold off for very long, the wing down must be used in smaller planes without much inertia in crosswinds.. Touch down on one wheel and at point of contact, there should be no sideload at all if you are doing it right. Never let the upwind wing get high, in a significant crosswind. Nev

Thanks, I think you're right its a mental battle rather than a real one and I seem to be breaking the habbit. At the airfield we often get strong gusts and cross winds that leave you wondering who is in control, so it has been difficult to judge what is pushing me to one side. My big advance came after watching a few videos from the states explaining all the torque and other effects that push you to the left. Armed with all that information it somehow seemed easier to correct the drift...

 

 

[facthunter]

Might be interesting if you did a few circuits from the right seat. Some change seats without any strife. Others get totally crossed up and like all things to be the same. There will be variations in aeroplanes and unless you are restricted in what you fly you will cope because you must. It's just a suggestion for you and your instructor to consider, slightly out of the box.. If it doesn't work you will still get some experience out of it. You are also doing crosswinds from the right most of the time. Try some from the other..Nev

 

 

[Nightmare]

My 1st time I hired the plane after getting my certificate, I was faced with the strongest crosswinds that I'd ever encountered.... I loved it!

 

 

[facthunter]

If you loved the strongest crosswinds you had ever encountered, it's not a theme you can keep repeating because the bar is raised by definition and one day.....

 

It is a question of judgement. The plane and you both have limits and the combination is the deciding factor and the variability of the wind. I've pulled a couple of good results off in extreme conditions and looking back I'm not sure I'm proud of myself. Perhaps I should have gone somewhere else where the conditions were not so critical? Nev

 

 

[Nightmare]

If you loved the strongest crosswinds you had ever encountered, it's not a theme you can keep repeating because the bar is raised by definition and one day.....It is a question of judgement. The plane and you both have limits and the combination is the deciding factor and the variability of the wind. I've pulled a couple of good results off in extreme conditions and looking back I'm not sure I'm proud of myself. Perhaps I should have gone somewhere else where the conditions were not so critical? Nev

Oh it was all within the limits, Nev. That's probably why I enjoyed it. I grant you that it was close to, but I've made it my policy that I don't fly outside the limits, and personal minimums. I check the weather reports and NOTAMs meticulously before each time I fly .... I want a nice long life in good health.

[Romeo Juliet Whiskey]

Landing consistently to one side is a habit you must overcome. It's usually to the side you are sitting . You are not the only one who has done it. As an exercise try to land slightly on the other side, and see how that goes. Unless you don't hold off for very long, the wing down must be used in smaller planes without much inertia in crosswinds.. Touch down on one wheel and at point of contact, there should be no sideload at all if you are doing it right. Never let the upwind wing get high, in a significant crosswind. Nev

I'm usually landing close to centreline. Its usually around touchdown I start veering off a little to the left. I think its an issue with parallax in the short-nosed Jab. Whenever i deliberately try add too much right rudder and over straighten the nose I roll straight down the centreline.... lol.

 

 

[facthunter]

Once you level the wings, the wind will start to blow you down wind. If you hold the crab on till contact, ( some jets seem to do this) you will have a large sideload on the wheels at contact, which can destabilise the ground run, directionally initially. It doesn't help at all in a taildragger either tending to initiate a groundloop as the wheels are in front of the Cof G. In your groundroll hold a lot of aileron into wind to help prevent that upwind wing lifting as you even do when taxiing. Nev

 

 

[skippydiesel]

I have always used both "crab" & "slip into wind" - Crab on final, slip as I come over the fence to touch down. Works for me.

 

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

With gliders, you can't put a wing down too much so they teach the crab and rudder straight just as you touch down method. If you rudder it straight and don't touch down right away then you start going sideways.

 

With the Jabiru, you can put a wing down as much as you like, so doing this to counter the drift and using the rudder to keep aiming along the strip ( this means crossed controls) works for me, and you don't need to pick the touchdown moment.

 

 

[Roundsounds]

I'm usually landing close to centreline. Its usually around touchdown I start veering off a little to the left. I think its an issue with parallax in the short-nosed Jab. Whenever i deliberately try add too much right rudder and over straighten the nose I roll straight down the centreline.... lol.

Try placing the runway centreline under the middle of your seat, this will place the aircraft near enough to being on the centreline. You'll find a lot of pilots use the middle of the aircraft's nose on the centreline - this results in a significant offset.

 

 

[diesel]

In strong x/wind I tend to use the downwind edge.

 

If you happen to start weather cocking as you slow down you still have all the runway in front of you.

 

My home strip is mown about 30ft wide.

 

The whole field about 40 paces wide.

 

All good stuff.

 

Chas.