Hi folks!I noticed that on the md11, during crosswind landings, the nose is perfectly aligned with the runway whereas the main landing gear is not. I checked in the documentation and found that the ILS antennas are situated in the nose landing gear which seems to be logical. But i was wondering whether it is safe and realistic to do so, as I read a lot of pilot's stories dealing with crosswind landings in 747. They were all saying that because of the wind, "they" (refering to the pilots' view which can be considered as the nose landing gear) were aligned on the grass, whereas the main landing gear was perfectly aligned with the runway. So, I was just wondering if it was realistic, and if so, what are the landing techniques to get the main landing gear on the runway centerline??Thanks!

I am making a guess here, but some of it must also be to do with the ability of the mains to take lateral loading. The 747's main undercarriage can touch at quite a crab angle, the aircraft must then be aligned with the centre before the nose comes down to avoid the lateral loading on the nose gear...Perhaps the MD-11's main undercarriage has far less lateral loading capability than the 747's and as such, the aircraft must be de-crabbed a lot more before touchdown...My guess...Andrew

Hi folks!I noticed that on the md11, during crosswind landings, the nose is perfectly aligned with the runway whereas the main landing gear is not. I checked in the documentation and found that the ILS antennas are situated in the nose landing gear which seems to be logical. But i was wondering whether it is safe and realistic to do so, as I read a lot of pilot's stories dealing with crosswind landings in 747. They were all saying that because of the wind, "they" (refering to the pilots' view which can be considered as the nose landing gear) were aligned on the grass, whereas the main landing gear was perfectly aligned with the runway. So, I was just wondering if it was realistic, and if so, what are the landing techniques to get the main landing gear on the runway centerline??Thanks!

Mhedbi,Re-Check MD-11 SYSTEMS MANUAL for the location of both LOC and the DUAL set of GS antennas.You will find it on page: INST.10.6Hope this helps.Regards,Harry

I am making a guess here, but some of it must also be to do with the ability of the mains to take lateral loading. The 747's main undercarriage can touch at quite a crab angle, the aircraft must then be aligned with the centre before the nose comes down to avoid the lateral loading on the nose gear...Perhaps the MD-11's main undercarriage has far less lateral loading capability than the 747's and as such, the aircraft must be de-crabbed a lot more before touchdown...My guess...Andrew

Andrew,Your guess is correct.Regards,Harry

Cheers Harry and thanks for that info from the manual too... I am starting to believe that some here can quote the manual from memory! :(Andrew

I am starting to believe that some here can quote the manual from memory! :(Andrew

Andrew,That guess is NOT correct.I'am unable to quote from memory, however till some 5 years back, the real manuals were my reference to operate the real plane.So it's not too time consuming to give some reference in the PMDG manuals if you know where to look.Regards,Harry

Harry, please accept my apologies if you believe I was in any way insulting. Far from it...I am the first in line to thank those with the wherewithall to check out the necessary reference manual sections and pages in solving an issue or problem.May I ask for whom you flew the MD-11 until around 5 years ago?Andrew

There may be more, but the only aircraft I know for sure that is designed to land in a crab is the B52. Due to the wingspan, she should not have a wing low on touchdown so the main trucks will canter to line up with the crab angle. Fun to watch. All other aircraft need to have the crab "kicked out" with rudder and upwind wing low to line up with centerline. Watch the MD11 autoland do this from spot position with a 10 kt crosswind.

Hi everybody. I checked in the manual and it is confirmed, the LOC antennas are to be in the tail. But, here are some screenshots so you can judge by yourself that the main landing gear are not properly aligned on the runway centerline:Thanks!

She won't align with the runway until the flare, but she defintely does not (or should not) land in a crab.

If you look at the PFD, you'll see that the localiser is exactly in the center.And during the flare and align process, the aircraft doesn't touchdown on the center line because of the crosswind effect (in fact, it gets further from the centerline...)

The only part of the aircraft that should be aligned are the aerials with the beams.The aircraft will have a tendency to end up slightly downwind of centerline, but not by much.Kick out the crab, roll into wind and maintain opposite rudder to keep it down the centerline if flying it manually. Great fun!I find it easiest to balance roll against the rudder (yaw first, then roll, due to induced roll with yaw), but be mindful of the bank angle.Best regards,Robin.

I find it easiest to balance roll against the rudder (yaw first, then roll, due to induced roll with yaw), but be mindful of the bank angle.

That is the way I was taught. Every landing here (KCRP) uses this technique since the "coastal bend" has daily average winds of more than 16kts, right now it is a typical 17G24. I use yaw to point the nose down the centerline then roll into wind to stop drift during flare and ideally upwind main touches first and on a good day I can hold it on one wheel for a breath then the other main then we get the nose down right away for braking. I've done this so often I hardly even think about it. The funny this is, I can't land for #$## on a calm day.

The funny this is, I can't land for #$## on a calm day.That is funny. I land in KSFO rwy28L alot in fs9 with AS6.5 and the winds average about 15-18kts from headings between 290-310. I've gotten so used to it that calm winds screw me up when I try to line up with centerline.

There may be more, but the only aircraft I know for sure that is designed to land in a crab is the B52. Due to the wingspan, she should not have a wing low on touchdown so the main trucks will canter to line up with the crab angle. Fun to watch. All other aircraft need to have the crab "kicked out" with rudder and upwind wing low to line up with centerline. Watch the MD11 autoland do this from spot position with a 10 kt crosswind.

Designed to land in a crab or designed to withstand a crab angle on crosswind landing are two slightly different concepts...Thanks for the info though, only ever saw two BUFFs landing, in Mildenhall years ago... smoky planes!Andrew

What about the problem of the localizer? Is this a bug?