A new direction for an old thread: Crosswind landings

Andreas Maurer wrote:

I'm afraid that I can't be any help here.
The only thing I know about crosswind landings is to crab and (during
the flare) to align with the runway with the rudder, wings level.

I think you fly at a winch site but there's another way some tug pilots
use. On final the aircraft maintains alignment with a sideslip - so it
approaches wing-down. High wing, single-engine aeroplanes find this a
good technique because they land without levelling the wings (on one
wheel) and this makes landing simpler.

It appears from the discussion to have been carried over to gliders in
the US but since it's generally a bad idea to land a glider with a wing
down, the major benefit of the technique is lost and it's probably
inappropriate.

The explanation may lie in the widespread use of Schweizer 2-33s in the
US whose high wing allows wing-down landings - and it works even better
than a Cezzna because it only has one main wheel and it slows down
quickly. Since the technique is a bit doubtful with the more common
mid-wing, high aspect ratio gliders that many pilots will move to, it
seems silly to teach it in the first place but that's their business and
it seems to work for them. Like you, I was only ever taught crabbed
landings.

As far as I can make out, that's what this discussion is all about and
it's really not for us aliens.

To me this is such a natural maneuvre that I happen to be unable to
see why there is a need to discuss this matter - but obviously others
see things in a different way.

I see it your way. Too many words to no useful purpose. But it's
actually a private conversation, I guess.

I've yet to see a broken glider just from a crosswind landing.
Shattered egos? Yes. Broken gliders? No.

GC





Bye
Andreas