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Thread: New Beginnings

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    rosiejerryrosie's Avatar
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    New Beginnings

    A new day, a new forum. Need to get some discussions going here. What are your views? Is it better to crab or slip when landing with a crosswind? I prefer a crab myself - landing an airplane with one wing low just seems .... unnatural...

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    I land in a crab on a regular basis.

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    Chad Jensen's Avatar
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    I've used both, depending on the airplane, but tend to use a wing low more often. In tailwheel airplanes I always slip in a crosswind.
    Chad Jensen
    EAA #755575

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    sdilullo's Avatar
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    I usually start off crabbed but transition into a slip before short final. Of course, if it's a relatively short final to begin with then it's pretty much all-slip. Especially in the Cub.

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    For those who like a crabbed landing, how does the plane cope with a touchdown in a crab? If it is a nosewheel airplane, you would be putting a side load on the nosewheel if it is not going the direction aligned with the runway when it touches. That might damage something, and is not going to be good for the wheel or tire. Maybe if you were really skilled you could crab when the main wheels touch, then get it straight until the nose wheel hits, but that would be hard.
    If you touchdown in a real airplane like a Cub or T6 and you are in a crab, then the tailwheel is moving sideways and it is going to be a pro ground loop unstable situation, isn't it. Like crosswind from the left, nose crabbed to left into wind, so tailwheel hits moving sideways to the right, and it is pro ground loop, wants to move more right.
    Seems to me a crab on final, especially in strong winds, but before touchdown align the nose with the runway and lower the upwind wing.
    Better yet go to a runway into the wind.

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    steveinindy's Avatar
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    I'd personally love to have the type of landing gear they have on a B-52 with the "dial-a-crab" feature.

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    rosiejerryrosie's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=Seems to me a crab on final, especially in strong winds, but before touchdown align the nose with the runway and lower the upwind wing.
    Better yet go to a runway into the wind.[/QUOTE]

    Yep - you have the answer to your own question. Unless you are drivng an Ercoupe (whose wheels caster if landing in a crab) you must lower the upwind wing and 'kick' to airplane to line up with the runway just before touchdown. It takes good timing, but, to me, it is easier than holding the correct slip and cross control all the way down final.
    Cheers,
    Jerry

    NC22375
    65LA out of 07N Pennsylvania

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    redfox435cat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rosiejerryrosie View Post
    A new day, a new forum. Need to get some discussions going here. What are your views? Is it better to crab or slip when landing with a crosswind? I prefer a crab myself - landing an airplane with one wing low just seems .... unnatural...
    I do both. On final I crab to gauge the effect that the crosswind actually has on the plane then transition into slip to touchdown. I've tried just slipping but Lompoc always has a pretty bad wind shear and like to just crab through that wind shear.

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    RetroAcro's Avatar
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    Unless you're in an Ercoupe or an airliner, you should always be touching down in a slip in x-wind. How early or late you happen to choose to transition from a crab to slip doesn't seem like a fundamental difference in technique or an important distinction to me, even though this seems to be an ever-present neverending debate. To me it's about as (not) important as differentiating sideslip vs. forward slip...and no let's not start that. :-) I'm always slipping on approach (to see the runway) x-wind or not, so this isn't something I think about. But if I didn't, I would transition to a slip as I was rounding out for landing...not that there's anything wrong with slipping all the way down final in x-wind. I just think it's unnecessary if done only for that purpose.
    Last edited by RetroAcro; 07-27-2011 at 09:05 AM.

  10. #10
    Dana's Avatar
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    When I learned to fly (Parks College in the 1970s, in C-150s) they were in the business of teaching future airline pilots, so all I learned was crabbed approaches, kick it straight at the moment of flare. Seemed natural... until I went back home and got a rental checkout on a narrow strip where it was usually crosswind; the checkout instructor showed me wing down landings and it made lots of sense. Then I bought a taildragger... wing down landings in a crosswind are the only appropriate technique.

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