Now that I am back to rudder pedals and yoke, I can fly the 744 more realistically. But I am still having some difficulty on touchdown and rollout in strong x-winds. I just landed in a 21k x-wind from 90 deg to my left with fairly hefty turbulence and although the TD went very well, the rest of the landing was only so-so. I kicked the rudder right as the mains came within 10 to 20 feet of the ground during the flare but the a/c veered slightly right away from the centerline and I tried to correct by applying left aileron. This is where I have difficulty: balancing the cross controls. Invariably, it seems, the rudder kick is slightly hard and the aileron activation simply lowers the opposite wing but my ground track remains off center. I usually end up fighting the crossed controls down to about 50 knots and although I've not bought the farm on any of these TDs, they are not satisfying in the sense that I don't feel I have the degree of control and precision I would like to have.Should I attempt to lower the upwind wing first, before applying opposite rudder during the flare?How can I improve such a landing and rollout?Jonathan

Hi Jonathan, You could try to make the decrab (putting in rudder to compensate for the nose offset) earlier. 10 to 20 feet makes for a very rapid decrap with almost no room to correct a "over-" or "under-decrab" Try to start at around 100 feet and while putting in rudder try to immediately (but subtle) put in aileron. Once lined up with the runway see if you are able to correct left or right of centerline with aileron alone. It will probably take some practice but the key is to get a controlled decrab and not a split second decrab only to find yourself unstable on touchdown.Upon touchdown keep the aileron in the same position as in last part of the flare. Keep centerline with your rudderpedals. Then as speed reduces increase your aileron input. (With lower speeds your aileron off course will reduce in effectiveness). Try to put in as much aileron as needed to keep the wings level.Good luck!

Jonathan,rest assured the real 744 would be no fun in a 21kt crosswind either!I had a nice 30kt crosswind going into KMCO last month and its no fun at all, but great inspiration to go down the pub for a beer after work i can tell you!At about 30 ft rad alt kick in the rudder to line you up with the centre line, at the same time add a bit of into wind aileron to keep the wings level,as the swept wing design tend to lift the outer wing as you boot in the rudder.At the same time close the thrust leavers and flare normally,you do not want to float in a heavy x wind or you`ll be off the side of the runway!Because the flight deck is so far forward of the C of G (ie pivot point) in a heavy crosswind the flight deck can actually be lined up with the side of the runway and it looks as though you are about to come down on the grass, untill you straighten up with the rudder!my best advice would be turn the wind off and don`t do it unless you have to!!cheersJon

Jon, I guess thats why you get the big bucks! I flew a GA airplane for the first time last weekend and it was tough enough to line up with the RW. Forget x-winds! After that experience, I have alot of respect for you pilots flying heavies. Joe

Jo, good to hear of someone progressing from sims to real aircraft,nice one!Thats the way I did it, learnt to fly on "solo flight" and sublogic flight simulator II on the commodore 64 then onto the real ones!cheersJon

Hi jtsjc1, are u doing your PPL?ben

Ben, yes I will be continuing to obtain a PPL. It just gives you some idea of what kind of skill it must take to hand fly something as big as a 744. I'm sure Jon and Capt. Randazzo know far better than I ever will. Joe