Airliner landing technique

Matt Whiting wrote

Did you ever intentionally land with the crab angle intact?

YES

This is what is advocated by a gentleman on the MSFS group
who says he is a retired "heavy" captain.

Quoting from my PanAm B-707 Flight Manual

" CROSSWIND LANDINGS

Make a normal approach. Maintain runway alignment by
crabbing. Before touchdown, gradually remove as much
of the crab as possible with rudder. It may be necessary
to land with some crab angle if the crosswind is high.
This presents no problem if the angle is not excessive
and the flightpath is aligned with the runway.

CAUTION

Touchdown with a large crab angle and the wings level
may result in a rapid rising of the upwind wing and may
cause an engine nacelle to drag on the runway.

Bob Moore
PanAm (retired)
17 years in the grand old 707
6 years as 707 instructor/check airman

"Bob Moore" wrote in message
. 122...

CROSSWIND LANDINGS

Make a normal approach. Maintain runway alignment by
crabbing. Before touchdown, gradually remove as much
of the crab as possible with rudder. It may be necessary
to land with some crab angle if the crosswind is high.
This presents no problem if the angle is not excessive
and the flightpath is aligned with the runway.

I had an interesting experience about a year ago when I went for a week of
IFR training in the BE76 Duchess. Most of my flying has been done on the
M20J ("Gear? Nah we just glued wheels on...") and the PA30, which, though
better than the M20J in crosswinds, still has its vices.

The BE76 was, by comparison, a complete no-brainer from landing #1. You
just point it in roughly the right direction and a combination of its
momentum and the trailing link gear does the rest. By the end of the week
I'd even forgotten all the one-liners I use with my passengers to laugh away
bad landings... ;-)

It strikes me that the technique used in any aircraft type is likely to be
dependent on how much residual crab angle you can get away with. With no
other considerations, you'd always land an aircraft with no crab angle: but
when some crab angle is acceptable, you might as well use that capability to
manage down any other risks, like kicking off the crab too early.

In a sense it's a bit like the question of why airliners fly wings level
even under asymmetric power. The best answer I heard was :"because they
*can*".

Julian Scarfe

In a sense it's a bit like the question of why airliners fly wings level
even under asymmetric power. The best answer I heard was :"because they
*can*".

Julian Scarfe

I believe that is true for any aircraft certified under Part 25.

wrote:

I can't speak to the 747 or 777, but I can the 767 and L-1011. There is
always controversy about it, but the truth is in watching the autopilot do
an auto-land. It's all crab until about 150 feet, HAT, where the autopilot
goes into align mode; that is it transitions from crab to wing down into the
wind with a slight amount of upwind rudder. This last throughout the flare
^^^^^^
downwind rudder, surely.
CV

CV wrote:

wrote:

I can't speak to the 747 or 777, but I can the 767 and L-1011. There is
always controversy about it, but the truth is in watching the autopilot do
an auto-land. It's all crab until about 150 feet, HAT, where the autopilot
goes into align mode; that is it transitions from crab to wing down into the
wind with a slight amount of upwind rudder. This last throughout the flare
^^^^^^
downwind rudder, surely.
CV

Correct, downwind rudder and upwind aileron. If I am landing on Runway 27 and the
wind is from 360 at 25, the left foot will be on the rudder and the control wheel
will be to the right. ;-)