It's also the only airplane I have ever flown that you run out of aileron way before you run out of rudder in a strong x-wind. Its pretty interesting the first few crosswind landings, but you get the hang of it. Since you are dealing with flight control laws, the aircraft will not allow a sideslip above 50 ft RA. Below 50 ft the computers essentially give the pilot "normal" control, or what you would be used to in any other aircraft. So basically, kick it and stick it! ;)

I was landing in Boston last week on Runway 27. A jetBlue was in front of us. We had extremely high wind gusts and crosswinds. The jetBlue had to go around. At the time we thought perhaps they weren't worthy pilots. But, after seeing what you just posted about the Airbus, I'm glad they did go around if it got ugly on them.

-Fatty

I haven't flown a ton of swept-wing aircraft, but the roll is there for everything down to a 152. There's a limitation for the 170 as well (something like 17 degrees bank) but I can't recall if it's for the engine or the wingtip. Either way, I don't want to find out the hard way.

It's interesting to hear about the other types of aircraft out there. I had a mainline guy in the jumpseat one day and asked why the 737 in front of me looked like it was taxiing sideways. I got to learn that the mains castor a bit to help avoid dragging an engine by allowing to land in a crab. Any other types have something like this?

Hell yeah, the mighty B-52. Our crosswind crab system is sick. We're wider than we're long, therefore no wing low method on that old bastard. 20 degree maximum gear prepositioning from centerline...which gives a max demonstrated x-wind component of 42KTS. :cool:

It messes with your head the first couple of times, trying to effectively land a crane, visualizing crab angles that put the aft gear that's 80 feet behind you effectively several dozen feet to the left or right of your seating position; having to force yourself to shoot for a cockpit position so many widths left or right of centerline to effect an overall centered landing position in the runway. If the crab is pronounced enough (in the high teens) to warrant having to see through the other pilot's nugget, most pilots elect to allow the pilot downind of the crab to land the crane, er, the airplane. Taxiing crabbed down the runway is another gem....and correcting for any drift you allowed while over the threshold on the flare while adequately compensating for the aforementioned geometry considerations is a little puzzling at first, to say the least.

Other than that, the 8 different assymetries of individual engines, flap retractions that resemble closing stadium roofs, ridiculous aerodynamic effects during air refueling due to having longer wings than the tanker, helicopter-style cockpit sight picture during lightweight pattern work due to built-in 8 degrees positive angle of incidence on the wing root (that's right, a whole lot nose down on the ADI gives you level flight) and an artificial feel control system designed to resemble control pressures of a B-36 because the hydraulic assist was making the old dudes over-G it back in the day (i.e. they incorporated unnecessarily fatiguing control forces to fly it manually for hours, for the benefit of people crossflowing in from the old big momma bomber), it flies just like your run of the mill airplane, pull-push houses get smaller get bigger type stuff....:rolleyes::D It's a vintage experience, so it's all good.

Good stuff. I've seen pictures of the BUFF doing those crabbed landings. Amazing that three generations have flown that jet, and over 50 years of technology have yet to replace it. What a magnificent beast.

On a sidenote, does the guy endoing the second mountain bike in your avatar have any significance or is it just a funny pic?

On big airplanes, you also have a very large body force, that is the wind blowing up against the fuselage. That also will push you to the downwind side and help with the rolling moment if you don't apply crosswind controls.

Strong X-wind Landing Video
 

After seeing this video I have great respect for just how strong these gear are and the amount of side-loading they can withstand. :eek:

YouTube - Cross wind landings boeing 777


Joe