Crosswind approach to landing.
 

This weekend, I was playing around with landing with a stiff crosswind (about 5 mph). My runway is east to west, approach was from the east and the wind was blowing from northwest to southeast.

I think I need to crank up more rudder deflection as I couldn't seem to get the plane to nose to the south. I got it down twice, but it was coming in sideways, hit the end of the runway at a 30 degree angle and came to a stop.

Any tips for crosswind approaches as far as the rudder usage or approach setup?

I take it more throttle than normal will be needed as the plane will be in a slip condition?

Thanks for any advice..

Kevin

Crosswind approach to landing.
 

I usually do it this way:

On the first part of the final leg I "crab" the airplane sideways. The plane is moving in the direction of the runway, but the nose is pointing to the side.

When I am a few meters above the ground I lower the wing that is pointing towards the wind and feed in opposite rudder. This makes the airplane side slip through the air, but it moves straight relative to the ground. The difficult part is to use the correct amount of rudder and aileron. Rudder is used to control which way the nose is pointing, and ailerons to control the direction the airplane is moving.

Hope this helps :)

Crosswind approach to landing.
 

i agree with sandal.. that is the proper way to do it.. but however it will take practice on doing so.. and when you start the crab.. you can come in just a touch higher on final.. this will give you leeway if you get blown wide of the runway or you find yourself a little slow. you can release the rudder and correct whatever situation you have developing.. just practice.. best thing to do is take off and use that tank of fuel practicing the landings.. get it down to about 5-10 ft off the deck and go around... also try diffrent directions....if possible.. that way you get experience on both.. it really sucks when your forced to land in a direction your not used too... also about 1 ft off the ground let go of the rudder but use the airlerons to keep the wing that is pointing INTO the wind down just a bit.. this will also correct for drift..

Crosswind approach to landing.
 

Flying cross controled all the way in could be easier than trying to pop out of a crab at low altitude. Use the rudder to keep the nose pointed down the runway, and aileron for drift.

Crosswind approach to landing.
 

The whole aileron/rudder control works great in a steady breeze but things get real exciting when it's gusting past 10mph on approach. whew!! That was a close one.

Crosswind approach to landing.
 

Yep. Our field typically has at least a 10mph (choppy) cross wind, and you don't have many options but to learn how to use that rudder. :D
Dennis-