Crosswind landings: what you’re doing wrong
A common landing mistake is pointing the fuselage toward the runway during the approach in a crosswind. Note that while an airplane will crab into a cross-wind, it will continue to fly in a straight line as long as the wings are level. Therefore, rather than pointing the fuselage where you want the plane to go, you must track where the airplane as a whole is traveling, irrespective of the fuselage, when in a crosswind. People debate every year about how to use the controls to correct for crosswind drift during landing. Yet, if they knew to guide the airplane as a whole (versus pointing it), they wouldn’t have to correct for wind drift in the first place (and would have more time to improve in other areas!). So, rather than trying to guessti-mate the plane’s track over the ground, project where the airplane as a whole is traveling (relative to yourself), and you’ll be able to recognize deviations during the approach before they become otherwise obvious. The tiny corrections needed to perfect the centerline when it comes into view will then be negligible.
Excerpted from Dave Scott’s “Troubleshooting Landings” article, available in the Model Airplane News membership site. For information on how to join, go to the AirAgeStore.com.
how bout a video?
You could also use a slip where you bank the plan into the crosswind so that the plane is turning into the wind but simultaneously use opposite rudder to keep it lined up with the center line of the runway. I Love you Debra!. Remember when you take off in a cross wind you should have your ailerons turned slightly into the crosswind so the opposite wheel leaves the ground first.
I’ve never flown before but I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express last night.
Wind straight down the runway… aim the plane’s nose just a bit to the runway side your own nose.
Wind from your back (when facing the runway)… aim the plane slightly behind yourself, toward the pits. Adjust based on drift observed.
Wind from your front… aim the plane out toward the flying area.
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The further out (within reason) you start lining up with the runway, the more time you have to adjust the plane’s track, thus avoiding making large last second corrections to try to get it on the runway.
Trying to make a U-turn directly onto the runway is for experts who are familiar with their aircraft… definitely not beginners.
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Hey guys,
I am a retired B-737-800 pilot. X-wind landings on a model are not that difficult. All you have to remember is this: Ailerons control your drift, Rudder aligns the nose to the runway. That’s how you do it in an airliner. The same technique applies to the models.
The most important thing to remember about the cross wind approach and landing using crab is you will need to use a little rudder in the flare to align the nose with the centre line otherwise a large crab angle will result in your aircraft darting off to the side of the runway creating bigger control problems. I see this a lot.
All good tips, thanks for chiming in!