Ferocious Crosswinds

Today I got to really practice crosswind landings- thanks to 10 knot winds gusting to 15 knots, 90 degrees to the runway. It was definently a challenge, and I imagine it will take a lot more practice to develop the kind of skills needed for these crazy winds.




The winds aloft were also fairly challenging. As I attempted to practice manuevers, suddenly I would be blown 20 degrees off heading in less than a second. I also practiced some ground reference manuevers, which were slightly more difficult due to the higher wind speeds. But I suppose it's important that I learn these things in case I get involved in high-wind situations down the road.

As I go in for my first crosswind landing, I'm a little high so I have to start a forward slip (see previous blog). I'm not very good at directional control in a slip yet (especially not in a crosswind) so I drift to the right of runway 3. At the runway threshold, I'm about 200 feet above the ground, and 100 feet to the right of the runway. Thinking that landing would involve a couple quick steep turns to get lined up, I turned to my instructor and said, "I don't like this, don't like this at all. Can I go around?" That would be my first ever personal decision as a pilot to abort a landing.

I came in lower for my second landing so that I don't have to slip. But now, I have to crab. That means that the nose of my plane is pointed into the wind and to the left of the runway in order to stay lined up. I did okay as far as staying in line with the runway. Now in a crosswind landing, you are supposed to land on the upwind wheel first. This time, I managed to land on all three wheels at the same time. It was a bit of a harsh touchdown, to say the least. For those of you who don't quite know what a crab is, you can search "crosswind landings" on Youtube and you will see planes crabbing, which is basically flying sideways to the runway. Here's a video of a crabbed landing by a 747:



The third time around, I asked my instructor to show me how he does it so I can study his technique. And of course, I filmed it again. Even he had trouble with this crosswind because of the gusts. He announced afterward that it was definently not one of his best crosswind landings, and that these kinds of winds will be more difficult for a beginner student like me. Here is his landing:



The fourth time around, I managed to land the plane fairly smoothly, and on the centerline, with the upwind wheel touching first. I'm starting to get the hang of it...