Douglas W. Daniel

Real-World Landing Technique

Daniel shows why one of the most popular ways of making crosswind landing can lead to serious airplane damage then describes in easy to visualize and understand terms the simplest and safest way to land under any circumstances including the most severe crosswind that the airplane can handle.

There are two ways to know if you can land in a crosswind. One is to land and see if you skid off the runway or ground loop. The other is to cross control the airplane before landing to see if you can get your wheels pointed in the same direction the airplane is moving. I prefer the second way.

When you use your rudder to point the airplane in the same direction that the runway lays and the ailerons to move the airplane from side to side over the runway, you are cross controlling the airplane. This is a technique used only in a few regions of flight, but a very useful one to master. Also known as a controlled slip, other articles describe how to practice it safely using the slow Dutch rolls (SDR).

Some pilots say they fly wings level in a crosswind and kick the rudder pedal vigorously the instant before touchdown to get the airplane pointed in the right direction. I have even seen this technique described in flying books. This seems to be one of those ideas that sound good but does not hold up. With this technique, you cannot know if you will get the nose aligned with the runway until after the landing, nor can you know if the crosswind will blow the airplane off the runway before it is on the surface and under control. So if your life insurance is paid up without an aviation exclusion clause, the old kick-and-hope trick might be worth a try.

There is an exceptional case. If you are flying a nose wheel, spoiler equipped airplane - which means you are flying a heavy airplane, not a light plane - then you can deploy the spoilers the instant you touch down and let the plane swivel toward the direction it is moving. I would refer you to that infamous Lufthansa attempted crosswind landing. You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42fchrzhHY . I think you will agree, even that technique requires some rather precise timing. I have seen videos of an Airbus A380 and a Boeing 474 successfully using this technique. They were flown by very skilled test pilots. I cannot recommend the technique for someone flying a light plane.

Passengers find cross controlling upsetting. They like the floor to be directly beneath them and the seat to feel level. Cross controlling to align the wheels with the plane's path across the surface requires that you bring the downwind wing up and that you press - sometimes very hard - on the downwind rudder pedal. Suddenly the floor tilts and the seat sits at an angle. This is all potentially upsetting to the passengers. What to do?

I recommend practicing cross controlling just as you start to raise the nose to land. This is the optimal procedure and only requires slightly more skill than the technique I describe a little further on. The wing loses very little lift when it is cross controlled, raising the airplane's stall speed marginally. If you cannot cross control the airplane enough to get the wheels properly aligned, applying power immediately and returning to a wings-level, coordinated flying condition will lower the stall speed again and get the airplane climbing. With the wheels now pointed off the runway, a botched go-around could be disastrous.

This technique minimizes the passengers' discomfort. Nevertheless, it is better to have an uncomfortable passenger than a bent airplane. So if you have not completely mastered the cross control at the last minute technique, cross control while you are still in your pre-landing glide.

If you cross control when you are well above the surface, you have enough time to see if the airplane can be aligned with the runway before you have to start concentrating on the landing itself. If not, then you have enough time to smoothly transition back to wings level and execute an un-hurried go-around. This technique is the easiest and therefore the safest. But it is the most disconcerting to an unaware passenger. So let your passengers know before you do it, that this is a quite necessary and safe procedure.

An important point here is that you should keep cross controlled throughout the landing and roll out.

Much has been written and said over the years about crosswind landings. It all boils down to having your wheels pointed in the same direction you are traveling before you touch down and knowing if you can while you have enough time, altitude and airspeed to easily make a safe go-around.

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