Hi everyonerecently I've been practicing my crosswind landings with 747however i'm always getting podstrikesIf I'm crabbing while I touch down, usually podstrike happens when I try to correct my heading after touch down (if I correct it slowly it will drift off the rwy center line)If I do it the one wing low method, it's always too low such that the outer engine hits the ground as I landI'm landing with ~18kts crosswind, which should be well within the structural limitsis there any method which I can try? thanks in advanceSam

Hi everyonerecently I've been practicing my crosswind landings with 747however i'm always getting podstrikesIf I'm crabbing while I touch down, usually podstrike happens when I try to correct my heading after touch down (if I correct it slowly it will drift off the rwy center line)If I do it the one wing low method, it's always too low such that the outer engine hits the ground as I landI'm landing with ~18kts crosswind, which should be well within the structural limitsis there any method which I can try? thanks in advanceSam

You shouldn't still be in the crab at touchdown, watch how the Autoland does it.Rob

Hi everyonerecently I've been practicing my crosswind landings with 747however i'm always getting podstrikesIf I'm crabbing while I touch down, usually podstrike happens when I try to correct my heading after touch down (if I correct it slowly it will drift off the rwy center line)If I do it the one wing low method, it's always too low such that the outer engine hits the ground as I landI'm landing with ~18kts crosswind, which should be well within the structural limitsis there any method which I can try? thanks in advanceSam

Well wing low method won't work for large planes and I hate doing it. Go in with a crab into the wind then at the last second, kick the opposite rudder pedal, but work it...DO NOT be aggressive with it. Do this close to the ground when you do that last few seconds of floating. But remember...work the pedals, but do not be aggressive unless there is a gust.

You've got to be careful while kicking that nose over in a crab. Swept wing airfoils are more susceptible to a stall in high crosswind crab landing situations. This is why it's something that you do only while just about to land. I knew a pilot who crabbed a ERJ while on approach and they fired him...

The real 747 has incredibly resilient main gear legs, they can withstand a staggering amount of sideways force, and that's because the wingspan is so long that the wing down technique would lead to problems, so they built the undercarriage with the notion that it probably would end up having to take considerable lateral force if someone stuffed up a yawing approach, which would be likely to end up as the preferred method in a strong crosswind.Striking an engine pod on the other hand can be incredibly damaging and dangerous, especially if it affects the mounting pylon. You will probably remember the American Airlines DC-10 crash where the No1 engine separated on take off, leading to a horrible and tragic crash. Whilst that wasn't as a result of a pod strike, it was caused by a maintenance shortcut when doing engine changes which caused cracks in the engine pylon and the mounting bolts; cracks which then grew until they caused a structural failure and the engine let go on that fatal flight. So as you can imagine, pod strikes are not something that would make you popular with an airline's maintenance people.On a more cheery note however, check out some of the videos on Youtube of crosswind landings at the old Kai Tak airport for a demonstration of just how much the 747's main gear can take if you crab it in.Al

You shouldn't still be in the crab at touchdown, watch how the Autoland does it.

Autoland on the 744 is designed to straighten up the wings at 5 feet. I think you'd have trouble mimicking that :(According to one source....When large crab angles are involved, the A/P de-crabs the aircraft to produce a maximum 5 degree crab angle. At 200', the autopilot removes all crab... leaving you with an aircraft aligned with the runway, but with a lot of wing angle. This is removed at 5 feet Radio Altitude.Regards.Q>

Hi everyonerecently I've been practicing my crosswind landings with 747however i'm always getting podstrikesIf I'm crabbing while I touch down, usually podstrike happens when I try to correct my heading after touch down (if I correct it slowly it will drift off the rwy center line)If I do it the one wing low method, it's always too low such that the outer engine hits the ground as I landI'm landing with ~18kts crosswind, which should be well within the structural limitsis there any method which I can try? thanks in advanceSam

The B747 can land in a crab at its max cross wind of 25 knots with a small jolt. This is true for most large jets. It works better with just a small amout of low wing in the flare with a gradual application of rudder to straighten the nose. The secret is to be smooth with small control inputs. The nose only needs to raised a couple of degrees in flair at about 30 feet to make a smooth landing. The B747 is so staple that very little control input is necessay once stabilized on the approach.The B727 is a different story. No matter how good a stick the pilot is, it will occassionally land hard. Bill