3 more Qs

1. Like there are crosswind landings, are there crosswind takeoffs too?
If yes, what's the procedure of takeoff?

2. In crosswind landings, it's recommended that one lands on only the
upwind wheel. Since this would almost always tilt the upwind wing
groundward, would there not be an engine strike? I'm especially
thinking of aircraft like the 737 and A320...

3. How to slip an aircraft sideward? I'm visualizing a situation on
final when a draft of air suddenly blows the aircraft a bit off-center
and when it might be a bit late to try and bank the craft to get it
back into proper alignment.

Thanks,

Ramapriya

1) Yes, on a crosswind takeoff you put aileron into the wind and use
rudder to stay aligned with the runway. One instructor had me do an
exercise in which I lifted up on one wheel in a crosswind takeoff and
proceeded a good distance down the runway in that condition.

2) Airliners bank into the wind too, but the degree of bank is much
less, since the crosswind is a smaller percentage of airspeed. I'm sure
engine strikes have happened, but it's not a common problem.

3) In gusty winds, it's often necessary to make sudden corrections of
both the rudder and aileron to stay centered on the runway. Many years
ago I had the wind change from a right to a left crosswind at the
instant of touchdown. Slammed me into the runway on the nosewheel and
right main. Thought for sure I had broken the airplane.
--
Gene Seibel
Confessions of a Pilot - http://pad39a.com/publishing/
Because I fly, I envy no one.

"Gene Seibel" wrote

2) Airliners bank into the wind too, but the degree of bank is much
less, since the crosswind is a smaller percentage of airspeed. I'm sure
engine strikes have happened, but it's not a common problem.

Not really Gene...airliners with wing mounted engines almost
always crab into the crosswind rather than banking. Engine
strikes are a serious problem. In the B-707 that I flew for
17 years, we crabbed and then using the rudder, "kicked-out"
the crab at the last second before touchdown. Boeing said
that if one was not comfortable doing that, just touchdown in
the crab. Of course autoland approaches always use the crab
into the wind method with the autopilot taking out the crab
just before touchdown.

Bob Moore
CFI ATP B-707 B-727

Y'know what Bob, almost the only aircraft I saw in Khartoum that
belonged to the national and private airliners were either 727s
(predominantly) or 707s

I could be wrong but I got the impression that the 707s made more noise
than comparable-sized aircraft...

Cheers,

Ramapriya

Thanks for the correction. Shouldn't have speculated beyond on my
experience.
--
Gene Seibel
Gene & Sue's Aeroplanes - http://pad39a.com/gene/planes.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

Bob Moore wrote:

the crab at the last second before touchdown. Boeing said
that if one was not comfortable doing that, just touchdown in
the crab. Of course autoland approaches always use the crab

Sorry for being naive here Bob, but does touching down with the nose
not pointed down the center of the airstrip, which is what I presume
would happen if you touched down in the crab, bust the wheels? I'm
thinking of the stress my ankles would be under if I had to jump down
from somewhere at an angle to my eventual follow-through (unsure
whether or not that's a silly comparison).

Ramapriya

"Ramapriya" wrote
Sorry for being naive here Bob, but does touching down with the nose
not pointed down the center of the airstrip, which is what I presume
would happen if you touched down in the crab, bust the wheels?

Certainly not good for light general aviation aircraft, but the
Boeings seem to take it easily.

Bob

Ramapriya wrote:

1. Like there are crosswind landings, are there crosswind takeoffs too?
If yes, what's the procedure of takeoff?

Yes. The aileron on the upwind wing is raised as if you were banking the
aircraft in that direction. The aircraft is kept straight by use of rudder. The
nosewheel or tailwheel is usually kept down a bit longer for steering. With
light planes, flaps may be retracted so that the plane leaves the ground at a
higher speed than normal. Once the plane leaves the ground, the pilot adjusts
the controls to achieve co-ordinated flight.

2. In crosswind landings, it's recommended that one lands on only the
upwind wheel. Since this would almost always tilt the upwind wing
groundward, would there not be an engine strike? I'm especially
thinking of aircraft like the 737 and A320...

Yes. In aircraft with engines under the wing, the plane is usually landed by
either landing sideways and allowing the gear to kick it straight or (more
usually) coming in at an angle and kicking the aircraft in line with the runway
by using the rudder just before touchdown. This latter method is called the
"crab and kick" method. There are several old videos floating around of 747s
landing at Hong Kong's old airport. In one, the plane obviously touches down at
at least a 20 degree angle to the runway. The amount of smoke from the tires is
impressive. In another, the plane banks just before touching down and loses an
engine when the engine hits the pavement.

3. How to slip an aircraft sideward? I'm visualizing a situation on
final when a draft of air suddenly blows the aircraft a bit off-center
and when it might be a bit late to try and bank the craft to get it
back into proper alignment.

When you bank an aircraft and use the rudder to counter the yaw effect, it will
turn. If, however, you don't counter the yaw, it will slide sideways towards the
low wing. If you actually push the rudder in the opposite direction to enhance
yaw, the plane will fly sideways. This is a slip. One use for a slip is to keep
the plane lined up with the runway when a crosswind is trying to blow the plane
sideways. Another use is to increase the rate of descent if you're too high on
final.

The gusty wind situation you describe is usually handled by normal maneuvers
(such as a small S-turn) while using throttle to keep from touching down. In
extreme cases, the pilot aborts the landing and climbs back up to try again.
Slips are, however, one tool that a pilot can use to handle gusts, so it
wouldn't be unusual for a pilot to do so.

George Patterson
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

Ramapriya wrote:

I could be wrong but I got the impression that the 707s made more noise
than comparable-sized aircraft...

707s are old planes by now. Jet engines have gotten quieter over the years. Any
707 that still has the original engine design is going to be very loud and smoke
a lot on takeoff. Even if the engines have been replaced with newer designs,
they'll be noisier than a 727. They 707 also has four of them versus the 727's
three.

When I was working at Hartsfield in the late 70s, it amused me that I never once
saw a 707 land there, but I could count on seeing several DC-3s every day if I
were working a site that allowed me to see a runway. Ten years or so before
that, every article or column about the 707 called it a classic, with the
implication that they would be flying for decades, but they were gone by that
time and the old Gooney Birds were still trucking passengers.

George Patterson
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

"Ramapriya" wrote in message
oups.com...
Bob Moore wrote:

the crab at the last second before touchdown. Boeing said
that if one was not comfortable doing that, just touchdown in
the crab. Of course autoland approaches always use the crab

Sorry for being naive here Bob, but does touching down with the nose
not pointed down the center of the airstrip, which is what I presume
would happen if you touched down in the crab, bust the wheels?

Think of it this way.

All that mass is moving straight down the runway, still pretty fast. It is
going to try to keep going straight pretty fast. The only thing to cause
enough stress on the gear to try to break the gear is the tires.

What happens when the tires first touch down? A big puff of smoke, as the
tires spin up to speed. Just a little bit of force involved to do that. It
would take a whole lot more force to make that big bird go sideways, right?
So what happens? The tires skid a bit sideways for a while, until the FO
(the captain wouldn't have screwed up by not kicking the crab out, right?
g ) wakes up and corrects to get the thing pointed straight down the
runway, right?

It has been my experience, from riding the heavy iron, that the combination
of a slightly low wing and kicking the crab out is what is used. I say that
only from observation, as it feels like one side hits, followed *very
quickly* by the other side landing. Sometimes, it does feel like you are
taking a quick ride towards the lights.
--
Jim ( I'm grading your landings, Captains) in NC :-)