larry_cox@ima.connections.com wrote:

Larry Cox wrote:

   The Aircoupe ( designed by Fred Weik ( spelling ? ) as in Piper
Cherokee ) is an airplane that originally had no rudder pedals and
*had* to be landed in a crab, in a cross wind. To accommodate this he
designed the " trailing link " gear, where the gear leg has a knee
that bends back with the wheel trailing the leg. When the plane is
landed in a crab the linkage between the wheel and the vertical leg
actually levers the fuselage around parallel to the direction of
flight ( down the runway ). It works great and was virtually copied by
Rockwell in the 111 and 112 Commanders.

Larry Cox

jerry@mc.net wrote:

Landing in a crab is not good for any airplane undercarriage because
they are not stressed to take side loads.

When a pilot is landing in a situation where it is likely there will
be a crab near the touchdown point......the crab angle is kicked out
with rudder so the centerline of the aircraft is aligned with the
runway.  At the time of rudder application the ailerons lower the wing
into the crosswind to kill the lateral drift across the runway.  In
effect, just at touch down the airplane is actually slipping into any
crosswind but not moving laterally across the runway, up wind or down
wind.  The airplane will touch on one wheel with no drift and there
will be no crab when both wheels are on the runway.   Continue holding
aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to steer straight down the
runway.

Jerry Grimmonpre'

 
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