Friday, March 07, 2008
Different Approaches for Different Coaches
(4)
Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against crosswinds. As a pilot I love crosswinds. Crosswinds give me the opportunity to improve my piloting skills. Every true pilot loves a good challenging crosswind. Does your personal pilot hate crosswinds? Beware!! Your personal pilot should love crosswinds. (On the other hand, you, as a passenger, should hate crosswinds.)
In my 1400 hours (more or less) of flying airplanes I have experienced only a few hairy crosswinds. I survived. The most memorable occasion was during my 'multi-engine check ride.' We were approaching Columbine runway 12. I was flying the Twin Commanche from the left seat. My FAA examiner was riding along in the right seat. There was a strong crosswind from the southwest. I compensated for the crosswind by 'crabbing into the wind' during final, an accepted procedure. The 'examiner' seemed at ease. As we neared the end of the runway, approaching touchdown, I reverted to the alternate method: left rudder; right aileron. We approached the runway threshold right wing low. I intended to touch down on the right gear. He became very tense. He said something like, 'You're scaring the passengers.'
I don't remember what I did next. Did I continue? Did I revert to a crab approach? Who knows? I do know that you can 'touch down' in the crab position, and that the result will tend to straighten out the airplane. But I passed the test. After that I taught my tail-dragger students to do the wing down approach, and I taught my multi-engine students to do the crab approach.
Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against crosswinds. As a pilot I love crosswinds. Crosswinds give me the opportunity to improve my piloting skills. Every true pilot loves a good challenging crosswind. Does your personal pilot hate crosswinds? Beware!! Your personal pilot should love crosswinds. (On the other hand, you, as a passenger, should hate crosswinds.)
In my 1400 hours (more or less) of flying airplanes I have experienced only a few hairy crosswinds. I survived. The most memorable occasion was during my 'multi-engine check ride.' We were approaching Columbine runway 12. I was flying the Twin Commanche from the left seat. My FAA examiner was riding along in the right seat. There was a strong crosswind from the southwest. I compensated for the crosswind by 'crabbing into the wind' during final, an accepted procedure. The 'examiner' seemed at ease. As we neared the end of the runway, approaching touchdown, I reverted to the alternate method: left rudder; right aileron. We approached the runway threshold right wing low. I intended to touch down on the right gear. He became very tense. He said something like, 'You're scaring the passengers.'
I don't remember what I did next. Did I continue? Did I revert to a crab approach? Who knows? I do know that you can 'touch down' in the crab position, and that the result will tend to straighten out the airplane. But I passed the test. After that I taught my tail-dragger students to do the wing down approach, and I taught my multi-engine students to do the crab approach.
