I am a former aeronautical engineer and flight test engineer for the USAF and Lockheed.

I am a current MD-11 F/O at FDX. I was an MD-11 captain at Gemini. I have also flown the DC-10 and the MD-10.

The control issues the writer was spasming about were real, and they were dealt with by software changes in the ~1999 timeframe. Prior to that, LSAS relaxed its inputs just as the aircraft entered the flare. After the mod, LSAS stayed online all the way down, with some extra pitch-down bias introduced when the spoilers deploy. It took care of the pitch sensitivity problem, although the aircraft is still a little light in pitch on final, especially when loaded aft.

Crosswinds are challenging, in my humble opinion, because of the culture of over-reliance on autothrottles that we have created. I just watched my captain shoot the first auto-throttle off approach and landing I have seen in all my time on the DC/MD at FDX. He then talked me into trying it. Lo and behold, we didn't die, and both our landings were spot on.

At Gemini, I never turned off the autopilot without turning off the autothrottles. The reason: I couldn't find a reason NOT to, other than laziness. I just ain't going to do it in the right seat if the captains won't.

Anyway, if you get into a crosswind landing, the company wants the boot fully in by 300 feet. So you got all this ~190' fuselage plowing along sideways, creating tons of drag. Then, at 50', the A/T's pull the power to idle. This happens even faster on the MD10. So the bottom drops out just as you start flaring and--- boom!

The taught technique is to just override the A/T's in the flare. Number one, this requires only one hand on the yoke, in a big airplane in a crosswind. Number two, and this one is about to get real interesting given a certain recent event: WE ARE OVERRIDING AN AUTOMATIC SYSTEM WITHOUT CLICKING IT OFF FIRST. I can think of few habit patterns that are more dangerous to develop. Remember the crew going around in MEM after a bad autoland? Remember SFS last year?

All that said, I love the aircraft and this is one of the most enjoyable I have flown (over 60 makes/models in my logbook so far). Believe it or not, my middle son's middle name is Douglas, after the 10 and the 11....