Crosswind Landing techniques

[Varig_777]

Hey guys. I have been reading posts on here for over 2 years now, however this is my first post!

This Saturday(tomorow) I will be making my first solo flight for my PPL.

Now, my approaches are great...I nail them each and every time. My only concern is with crosswind landings.

What technique would you reccomend I use on approach? Crab into the wind or turn into it and use opposite rudder?

The method I am most comfortable with is the dipping of the wing and opposite rudder, however I am always afraid that would cause me to drop like a rock(forward slip style) Could you clarify that for me?

Also, this is my biggest problem: Correcting for wind once on the ground. Many times after a nice touchdown I thought the plane was going to flip over on its side because I forgot to correct for wind.

When exactly do I turn the aileron into the wind? When the main gears touchdown or when the nose wheel comes down?

And of course any other tips and reccomendations you guys may have for my first solo, please give them to me! I am very excited! Thanks for your help!

[MidlifeFlyer]

Here - try my crosswind landing FAQ. Maybe something in there will help.

http://www.midlifeflight.com/faq/faq.php?s=3

[Ralgha]

Wow, talk about great questions to ask your CFI.

Why aren't you asking him/her?

[flyguy]

Wing low method is usually better for beginners because it can be hard to judge when to take the crab out. If you start to drop, add power.

As for the correction when you get on the ground, if you are using ailerons to get you on centerline like you should, you should already have some of the correction you need. You'll want to get the rest of the correction in after you touch the mains down. No need to wait for the nose gear to come down, as you don't want to be "wheelieing" down the runway with little or no crosswind correction just waiting for the wind to have its way with you. Before the nose gear touches down, some of the weight is still being supported by the wings, so you are liable to get pushed pretty good by the wind.

And I second talking to your instructor about it.

[Varig_777]

Thanks for the replys!

I do discuss these things with my instructor, however I feel that receiving a wide variety of advice from experienced pilots can only have a positive effect on my training.

I stand by that belief in regard to the article midilfeflyer wrote. That was some great advice and just what I was looking for! And thank you flyguy for your thorough response...certainly invaulable advice.

As for my long awaited solo.....the weather here in Dallas took a nose dive sometime around 1am this morning and I awoke to find low overcast skies and 3sm visibility. Things only became worse the closer it got to my departure time.

By 2pm, my scheduled flight time, it was raining, the ceiling had dropped to 1,000 ft with Thunderstorms all around. As I write this, here is the weather for my airport-Addison:

KADS 282249Z 08010KT 3SM RA BKN044 OVC100 20/20 A2986


So, needless to say my flight was canceled and I spent the afternoon at the gym and watching more of those CPC DVDs!

I scheduled another flight for tomorow at 1600. Hopefuly the weather will be better by then....It just kills me how all throughout the week we had clear skies and nice weather, then when the weekend arrives and I'm scheduled to fly the rain moves in

Oh well.....thats part of the adventure of getting your PPL!

[Ralgha]

[ QUOTE ]
I feel that receiving a wide variety of advice from experienced pilots can only have a positive effect on my training.

[/ QUOTE ]

Most definatly, however consider the source. In this case, you are getting advice from anonymous people (we think they're people anyway) on the internet. We could all be homicidal maniacs with enough avation knowledge to make you think we know what your talking about while we give advice that will kill you.

Granted that's an extreme example, but I think you get the idea. More often it's a matter of someone who unknowningly provides false information (that often sounds correct) while trying to help. Usually because they themselves don't know the correct information. Sometimes what they say gets corrected by someone, sometimes it doesn't.

I might be an artifical intelligence experiment in someone's basement computer for all you know.

Now I'm not saying the people here are going to give you bad information, I'm just saying consider the source, take it with a grain of salt, and don't rely on anonymous internet forums too much.

[MidlifeFlyer]

[ QUOTE ]
I might be an artifical intelligence experiment in someone's basement computer for all you know.

[/ QUOTE ]You know, I've often wondered if we were from the same neighborhood.

[kellwolf]

[ QUOTE ]
the weather here in Dallas took a nose dive sometime around 1am this morning

[/ QUOTE ]

No kidding. Makes me glad I'm working on CFI stuff now since that's mostly ground.