How to Walk Away from all Your Crosswind Landings

I was recently asked about the possibility of a wingtip strike when landing in a typical light plane like a Cessna 172 or a Cherokee. Specifically, I was asked about how much aileron control deflection is possible without hitting the runway when one of the main landing gear is on the runway after landing at near stall speeds.

I will admit that I have never tried to hit the runway with my wing tip and I don't know anyone who has. However, I don't doubt that it is possible. Perhaps a better question is: what crosswind landing technique will guarantee that the wingtip does not strike the runway?

I want to talk about landing techniques in a really strong crosswind before I tackle the issue of wingtip strikes. After all, wingtip strikes are not a credible issue except in crosswinds that approach the airplane's crosswind limitations.

To make controlled crosswind landings, you should master the skill of pointing your airplane in the same direction that it moves over the ground. If the airplane is pointed in some other direction when you touchdown, the best you can hope for is abrupt side forces on your landing gear followed with a swerve as the airplane swings in the right direction.

The worst is loss of directional control followed with a trip off side of the runway, possible ground loop, nose over, wingtip strike, or all of the above. Pointing the airplane it the direction it moves is a very essential skill, is not as easy as it sounds, and certainly requires practice before it can be mastered. In a nutshell, here is how to do it:

Point the airplane in the direction that it travels by turning the nose with your rudder pedals alone. Move the airplane from side to side by changing your angle of bank with ailerons. Control airspeed or height above the runway by changing your pitch attitude with your elevator. This lets you keep your wheels pointed in the direction the airplane is moving and keep your airplane directly over the middle of the runway.

This is exactly where you should be when you land. Landing in a crosswind, you touch the runway while cross controlled. This is a steady state condition. Your airplane is not rolling around its long axis. That is to say that it has a steady angle of bank. In a general aviation, production light plane, you cannot cross control far enough to touch the wing tip.

The technique that works best is to try to keep the downwind main wheel barely off the runway as long as possible after you have touched down with the upwind wheel. To hold the downwind wheel off, you must continuously increase aileron control defection until it reaches its limit. Eventually, as the airplane continues to slow down, the ailerons lose power and the other main wheel will settle onto the runway.

Finally in any well executed crosswind landing, the aileron control will be pushed to its limit. An important point here is that, just like any other aspect of good airmanship, you should move your controls smoothly and with the purpose of changing the airplane's attitude. A snap roll is the only situation where I deliberately move the controls violently.

Now, back to the subject: how could you strike a wing tip? I can think of two ways. Suppose you suddenly and violently slapped the aileron control all the way to its limit. Two things would happen: the airplane would no longer be properly cross controlled, and it would start to roll. Now the wing tip strike is possible. In other words, you would have just fouled up a perfectly good crosswind landing. You would put the airplane in a very difficult situation, one that would require a particularly skilled pilot to salvage. I don't recommend it.

The more likely situation is that you land in a strong crosswind with wings level. That is to say, not cross controlled. Here, the airplane is crabbed into the wind and the wheels are not aligned with the airplane's path over the ground. Because the airplane is not aligned with its path through space, the wheels will generate a very strong side ways force on the undercarriage when they touch the runway. With luck, this results in a sideways skid. Just like in a car, if the wheels are far enough apart, the airplane will skid until it either stops or straightens up. If the wheels are not far enough apart, you're unlucky. The airplane rolls over, striking the ground with its wingtip.The lesson here is: use proper crosswind techniques and you will not need to worry about wingtip strikes.

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The Three Skills to Land an Airplane

There are just three fundamental skills you need to know to land an airplane safely and consistently. They are airspeed control, projected glide control, and controlled slow flight. You can learn each separately. But you use them all to land safely and consistently.

The most fundamental and easiest to learn is airspeed control. You should start with it. Then you should master slow Dutch roll thoroughly at various airspeeds, aircraft configurations and angles of bank. Concurrently you can learn to control the projected glide point while maintaining a constant airspeed. Airspeed control and projected glide control bring the pilot to the right place at the right airspeed to start the transition from the approach glide to the landing phase.

Control airspeed with the elevator; fine-tune airspeed with power, flaps and landing gear. Monitor airspeed with the airspeed indicator, and then adjust your pitch attitude with the elevator to change your airspeed. If you add to the airplane's drag, you will be forced to pitch down to maintain constant airspeed. The opposite is true, as well. If you add power, you must lift your nose some, and so forth. Once you have learned to control your airspeed in various flap, landing gear, and power settings you are ready to move on to controlling either your projected glide point (PGP) or mastering slow Dutch rolls (SDR).

Controlling PGP is only slightly more difficult than controlling airspeed. During a constant airspeed approach, you will see a point on the ground that is staying absolutely still in your field of view. This is where you would be if you continued your approach glide. This is your PGP. If you keep your airspeed steady, your PGP will move farther away from you when you add power and it will come closer to you when you reduce the engine's power setting. More drag brings PGP closer; less drag pushes it away. There is really not much to controlling PGP, but when a pilot runs off the far end of the runway almost certainly poor PGP control, poor airspeed control, or both was the problem. You have to control them both to arrive at the right place and the right airspeed to execute a good landing.

Ironically, once you have flown the proper approach, you no longer need to control either airspeed or PGP. A new set of skills is required to execute the landing itself. Fortunately you can learn most of these skills with one exercise conducted at a nice comfortable attitude. You learn it by doing SDR in slow flight and in a landing configuration.

Pick a point on the horizon, hold it steady, and very slowly change your angle of bank without letting the point move. Repeat this exercise while transitioning from an approach glide to level slow flight. Add power as required to maintain a constant altitude while keeping that point steady. Now you are ready to start landing practice.

You learned how to keep the airplane from turning left or right in various angles of bank while flying in a landing configuration at speeds just above a stall by practicing SDR. This is a very good description of the technique used to land an airplane. If you have a simulator, you don't need an instructor. That is the nice thing about simulators; you botch up and try again. Airplanes are not so forgiving.

In either airplane or simulator, here is how to learn to land. You have successfully flown the approach so you are about one wing span above the runway, over its center line and at just the right airspeed. From now on PGP and airspeed need not concern you. Looking forward and from side to side like you were driving on the open road, you start raising your nose to slow the airplane's descent. Using your rudder pedals you keep the nose pointed at the far end of the runway. Using your ailerons you keep the airplane centered over the runway. Use your pitch attitude first, and then throttle, to keep the airplane off the runway.

You are NOT going to land! This is just an exercise. The objective is to get as close to the runway, at as slow airspeed as possible, without touching it. You are now doing that SDR in level slow flight that you did earlier. Just to prove you have mastered the situation, slide the airplane from side to side just above the runway without touching but as close as you can get. Be certain that you continue to keep the airplane pointed at the far end of the runway and the airplane's body parallel to the runway. As you approach the end of the runway, smoothly apply full power and execute a go around. Each time you do this, fly the airplane as slowly as you can. Keep that stall warning screaming. It is really a fun thing to do.

As you develop skill with this maneuver, try touching the runway but without landing. Touch it very gently but at as low a speed as you can. At some point you will realize that you could just touch the runway very gently at a very slow airspeed, then close the throttle and you will land. Easy, wasn't it?

Doug Daniel, long time flight instructor, invites you to visit http://PrivatePilotTrainingOnline.org for more flying articles like this one. You may also feel free to contact Doug by visiting his website.