Bruce,
With all due respect.
Your comment "once again flying head on into the air" illustrates what I feel is the misconception regarding crosswind. The effect is only relative to the ground. The airplane, unless it is being flown in uncoordinated flight such as a slip, is always flying "head on into the air". The "crab" is only seen by an observer on the ground.
What caused me to bring this all up was a remark on a pattern thread about a plane with a particularly large amount of side area not being a successful design when flown in a crosswind.
In a steady state I don't agree.
JLK