Crosswind Landing Technique Tutorial

Hey all, I decided to start making some how-to articles on certain aspects of flying. This one will be covering proper crosswind landing technique. First I will give an in-depth description of how to land in a crosswind, then at the end will be my video on how to land in a crosswind. Enjoy, and I hope it helps!

Intro:

I am 18 years old, and I fly R/C and full scale planes. In full scale, I fly light aircraft; specifically a Cessna 162, as well as some non fixed wing airplanes; Powered Parachutes. I started flying with R/C airplanes at the age of 8. I always struggled when the wind started blowing across the runway at my flying field. When my plane was pointed right down the runway, I couldn't help but notice that my plane was slowly drifting either away from me or towards me (depending on which way the wind was coming from). I would always end up unintentionally touching down at the far or close side of the runway, and sometimes have to go around because of it, even though my goal was to touchdown right on the centerline.

This is a common mistake many new R/C pilots make, but don't worry, the proper way to land in a crosswind is quite easy with a little knowledge and practice!

Techniques:

There are two main techniques for landing in a crosswind; the de-crab/crab, and the sideslip. Each has its up and downs, and different pilots prefer their own way. Here are the different techniques, explained.

De-Crab/Crab: Earlier I explained the phenomenon when an airplane begins to start to drift away or towards you even though you have it pointed right down the runway. This is referred to as "wind drift". Think of it as a water current. If someone is pointing their boat right across a body of water with no current, the boat will track straight across. However, if someone were to point their boat directly across the body of water that has a current and try to go to the other side, they will make it across, but they will also drift away from their desired landing zone. In order to elminate the drift, both for the boat and for an airplane, the pilot must simply allow their plane to weathervane into the wind/current. This is known as "crabbing" the airplane.

At this point, it will look like the nose of the airplane is pointing either at a small or large angle away or towards the pilot on the ground (depending on which way the wind is blowing and how strong). Once the plane is pointed correctly into the wind, ground track will be consistent with the direction of flight desired, thus the airplane will be tracking down the runway, even though it looks like it is flying in a different direction. This correction is known as the wind correction angle (WCA). Once you are at about the height that you would normally flare and your wind correction angle has been properly made, you need to straighten out the nose of the plane to track with the direciton of the runway. This is because it would be bad to land at an angle as the plane could flip over or the landing gear could get twisted which could cause further damage to the airframe as well. All that needs to be done to straighten out the plane is to simply put the plane into a super quick sideslip once at flare height, and touch down the upwind wheel first, followed by the downwind wheel. (description on how to sideslip is the next technique explained below).

Side Slip: The main difference between a sideslip and a crab is the sideslip has the nose pointed down the centerline the whole time through touchdown, whereas the crab has the nose weather-vaned into the wind until the last second when the pilot inputs a sideslip to touchdown. The sideslip is simple: align the nose with the runway centerline without drifting. The process: once on final approach, align the nose of the plane with the centerline of the runway. Then, bank the wings the opposite direction of the way the wind is coming from (bank upwind). Then, give rudder with the wind (opposite rudder). This makes the plane fly at a slight bank while keeping a straight ground track at the same time. Once you are at flare height, maintain your sideslip, and touch the lowest wing's wheel down first (this applies to both conventional and tricycle gear aicraft), and then allow the higher wheel to settle down. Be sure to keep all crosswind corrections on the sticks until the plane has come to a stop or the plane could turn or flip over.

Video: Now, take a look at my video of crosswind landings. I apologize if my typed out techniques are confusing, and I hope that the video clears up any confusion. If you all have any further questions, feel free to ask away! I hope this helps everyone out.