Crosswinds On Rails

I enjoyed Jeb Burnside's article, Crosswinds On Rails, in the July issue and some further suggestions about crosswind landings, plus a correction:

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, July 21, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

For crosswind landings, crab down to low altitude before slowly transitioning to a slip and aligning the nose, ensuring the maneuver is smooth rather than coordinated, and consider adding speed for crisper aileron control.
Pilots should be aware that at high angles of attack during the flare, ailerons lose effectiveness faster than the rudder, which can lead to an unexpected rudder-induced wing-up tendency when rapidly straightening the nose.
Unfamiliarity with specialized aircraft instrumentation, such as the Sperry F3 attitude gyro which displays information opposite to conventional indicators, can lead to dangerous misinterpretations of flight data and loss of control, underscoring the need for pilot proficiency with all equipment.

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I enjoyed Jeb Burnside’s article, “Crosswinds On Rails,” in the July issue and some further suggestions about crosswind landings, plus a correction:

If you use the slipping technique landing upwind wheel first, I suggest that you don’t set up too early with your slip on final. The winds even at 200 feet agl usually are much stronger than at the surface, so you may have lots of cross-control input and the added power all that drag requires. Just crab it down to 100 feet or even 30 feet, then slowly put the wing down while swinging the nose straight. This works well whether I’m flying an MD-88 or my J-3.