larry_cox@ima.connections.com wrote:

Jeff Spitzer wrote:

jbullens wrote:

 Our Ez's do better than spamcans in a crosswind but only
a few airplanes are designed for touchdown in the crab attitude.
Long's, RV's and Varieze's are not.

Just out of curiousity from a student pilot.  If you say these airplanes
are not designed to land crabbed...what happens if you do?

Jeff Spitzer

Impact side load on the landing gear.
You are supposed to land on one wheel.

Paul Lamar

Larry Cox wrote:

    You do land on one wheel in making a cross wind landing but only
because you are banking into the wind ( upwind wing low ) and you are
holding the nose parallel to the direction of flight, and hopefully
also to the runway, with the opposite rudder. When you land on one
wheel, that one wheel ( upwind ) should be parallel to the direction
of flight, the same as when you land on both wheels in a no wind
situation. Too much bank into the wind and not enough opposite rudder
to hold the fuselage parallel the  direction of flight will cause the
upwind wheel to touch down first and the gear leg will be stressed
outward.

    If you do not hold the upwind wing down on landing ( trying to
land on both wheels at the same time ) and you let the wind get under
your upwind wing and lift it, and at the same time weathervane the
fuselage around into the wind, it is the downwind gear leg you have to
worry about getting folded under on a one wheeled landing. Usually the
tire will get rolled off the rim before that happens, but it happens.

    Until you get the hang of alligning the fuselage with the
direction of flight and, landing on the upwind wheel, you can minimize
the side load stress by practicing your landings at a grass strip,if
they still have grass strips in your part of the country.

Larry Cox

 
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