Comments on: Just Land the Darned Airplane

By: Paul McGhee

Paul McGhee — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:12:23 +0000

“Believe it or not, a sideload is more damaging to your landing gear than a rough landing.” I don’t believe it. Not after watching all those videos on Youtube of airline pilots planting 800,000 lb planes in varying angles of crab while landing in what must be ferocious crosswinds. You can see the pros are very good at timing the kick-out, but not perfect. I don’t believe it after plonking my poor Grumman Tiger more times than I care to admit at minor side load angles–apparently without harm–during my primary training. I’m starting to think the side load bugaboo is like the other aviation wives tales we’ve all heard.

By: Patrick Flannigan

Patrick Flannigan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:56:38 +0000

I really appreciate your perspective and you’re right on, especially about flying the airplane all the way down to taxi speed. In a tailwheel you even need to keep flying to a full stop as weathervaning and ground-loops can develop rapidly. Thanks so much for contributing Harold!

By: Patrick Flannigan

Patrick Flannigan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:47:11 +0000

Yessir, smooth landings come and go. Thanks for the comment Benny.

By: Patrick Flannigan

Patrick Flannigan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:45:32 +0000

Good call on the earplugs! When I’m riding in the back of an airliner (especially a DC-9!) I always wear some earplugs, more for engine noise though. The whirring of the engines gets old after a while.

By: Harold Villacorte

Harold Villacorte — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:02:16 +0000

This definitely applies to situations in which you really want to get the airplane on the ground, such as when flying a transport category aircraft with paying passengers who want to get somewhere. Definitely just get the job done and go home. Or the the piston pilot who finds himself in a situation he doesn’t want to be in anymore, get the airplane on the ground safely then go home and think about it. But a pilot in training or a pilot who is genuinely interested in becoming better and safer need not be afraid to go out and practice some landings when strong crosswind conditions exist and go for the greaser every time. It’ll make make the hard landings softer and the soft landings spectacular in “real” life situations when you really need those skills. If you’re not comfortable with the idea then just hire a good instructor to come along for the ride.

To make a good crosswind landing you need to only follow three basic rules which apply to all landings.

1. Land somewhere in the touchdown zone.
2. Keep the longitudinal axis of the airplane parallel with it’s flight path.
3. Land on the centerline. I saved this for last because you might have to deviate from it if the crosswind is strong enough. You might find out someday that the crosswind component can exceed the limits of the airplane and you simply run out of rudder while the airplane continues to drift off the centerline. When this happens you can turn the nose a little more into the wind and land with a flight path that is slightly diagonal to the centerline. On a very narrow runway it might be safer to just accept the sideload.

Once the airplane is on the ground you have to keep flying it until you come to a safe taxi speed. Use whatever rudder it takes to keep the airplane straight and keep the aileron correction in there while pushing the yoke forward a little to give you more nosewheel steering authority. With practice it becomes second nature.

Hope this helps. Have fun and fly safe.

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:46:30 +0000

I agree there. I mean.. if you have to fly thru 2 storm fronts to get to where you’re going, it’s going to be a turbulent flight.

What goes up, most always comes down; Sometimes smooth, sometimes it’s like dropping a piano. I would agree that the gear is more designed to take a higher vertical force than a lateral force. That just looks like simple mechanics….

I wear earplugs when I fly, not to dull the noise of the crying babies, but to dull the noise of the panicky passengers.

It’s a good article, deserves being read by your novice travelers.

By: Benny Rietveld

Benny Rietveld — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:37:55 +0000

Very cool!

I travel a lot (I’m a touring musician), and I’ve been doing it awhile. So I’ve been through all kinds of landings, and have learned that they’re not always “smooth”, but that when they’re not it’s nothing for me (as a passenger) to be concerned with. I still found the article interesting, however, and would suggest that a lot of “newbies” as well as seasoned travelers read it as well.

Thanks!