De-crabbing at RWY treshold and flying the real ACFT since roll-out. Yeah right!The info I got from a RW Airbus 320 pilot is:- de-crabbing during flare and dropping the upwind wing into the wind, thus touching at 1 wheel.- De-crab almost completely before dropping the nosewheel.He also said that it's more difficult in MS flightsimulator then in real life so don't get frustrated I practiced crosswind landings a lot in MS flightsim. I do touch and goes and increase the wind untill it gets ridiculous. Then, when you have to land it with "normal" crosswind conditions, you'll be fine.Bert Van Bulck

Is it me or slipping seems a lot easier than crabbing in FSX? I almost always mess up when I try to crab as I find it very difficult to "look" towards the runway. Instead slipping lets me track the runway extension line much easier and thus better...

Can someone explain what downwind and upwind are? I know these terms in the context of traffic patterns, but have only recently heard them in the context of engines/wings/ and wheels. Thanks.

No Jay, my post is 100% correct, I know everything and I've been flying the RW NG's since they rolled out, so I'm right - 100% ;)

to those who apparently didn't catch it, this is complete BS. Just covering up my embarrasment for being half wrong in the first place

Don't forget, the yaw damper is there to sort out your rudder for you (ie balancing turns in flight). Kicking the rudder in flight just judders the airframe as the yaw damper re-corrects. You might as well kick the bottom of the flight-deck door than use rudder when in normal flight. Yaw damper only allows you to kick off your drift during the flare.While you kick-off drift, gently feed in opposite aileron to prevent your getting blown across the runway. You will eventually touch down upwind wing low, on the upwing gear. Continue to "fly" the aircraft as it is still aerodynamically "viable" for the first few seconds after touchdown. Balance everyting by letting down the downwind wing, using rudder to hold the centreline. At some point, gently lower the nosewheel to the runway. Thereafter, drive with rudder until 80knts when you grab the tiller.Rgds, Rob.

Yaw damp isn't really doing much in this regard. You're not fighting it in flight.

to those who apparently didn't catch it, this is complete BS. Just covering up my embarrasment for being half wrong in the first place

I just had to add to it, no biggy :)

If anything I find the rudder in FSX too effective. It doesn't take much to correct for a 30kt crosswind. In the real aircraft, I find that after 2 or 3 approaches in heavy crosswind, my leg tends to get sore. Same thing during engine out approaches in the sim. Thank god for rudder trim!!! I guess you can adjust your rudder pedals to the point that requires more movement. Since my airforce days I prefer the wing low method from 300ft.

In the past I always found that the aircraft movements were very jerky and crosswing landings were very hard on my legs. But not any longer. I did 2 things to fix this and everything is as smooth as butter. The NGX flys like a dream now.1) Removed all Axis Assignments from FSX and moved em to FSUIPC and for the Slope (Sensitivity option) I use +52) Added the following line to the [CONTROLS] section of FSX.cfg. Just paste the line in directly under [CONTROLS]stick_sensitivity_mode=0

Can someone explain what downwind and upwind are? I know these terms in the context of traffic patterns, but have only recently heard them in the context of engines/wings/ and wheels. Thanks.

Upwind: where the wind comes from.Bert Van Bulck

Can someone explain what downwind and upwind are? I know these terms in the context of traffic patterns, but have only recently heard them in the context of engines/wings/ and wheels. Thanks.

If the wind comes from your right then the right engine is upwind and the opposite for left x-wind.

If you really want to see a bunch of different techniques, check these videos on YouTube :-)http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=crosswind+landings&aq=f

Is it me or slipping seems a lot easier than crabbing in FSX? I almost always mess up when I try to crab as I find it very difficult to "look" towards the runway. Instead slipping lets me track the runway extension line much easier and thus better...

It takes a while to get used to the different point of view when crabbing. I think that is because most of us take a fixed point in the cockpit to aim for our centerline. When crabbing, you can't use that any more. Try to get rid of using this point.Slipping: I'm not talking about all operators but I know that some (or most?) forbid a slipping approach because it involves higher risks.Bert Van Bulck

Upwind: where the wind comes from.Bert Van Bulck

Thanks for the answers guys.

If the wind comes from your right then the right engine is upwind and the opposite for left x-wind.

It takes a while to get used to the different point of view when crabbing. I think that is because most of us take a fixed point in the cockpit to aim for our centerline. When crabbing, you can't use that any more. Try to get rid of using this point.Slipping: I'm not talking about all operators but I know that some (or most?) forbid a slipping approach because it involves higher risks.Bert Van Bulck

I've read somewhere that slipping is usually used in light aircrafts and that airliners will almost 100% use crabbing, so I agree with you. However I do it quite often sometimes withoput even noticing. It's a sim after all!!! :D

Interesting. I've slipped through out my career military and civilian. In the heavy track in the airforce we slipped. I know some planes like the KC-135R and the C-40(737) have engines close to the ground. I've flown C-141S, dc-10-30s and now G5s which don't have any engine strike issues. I like the slip because i can apply it early enough to warm my hands up. My drift is killed and I'm aligned with the runway. My engineer/co-pilot gives me wind and drift update through out short final. Lastly there isn't much flight control changes during the flare. I only have to shift my aim point down the runway and judge my flare and compare to altitude call outs. The landings seemed smoother as I touched on one main and rolled it on. The worst crosswind landings I've experienced were in the dc-10. New guys would touch down with a crab as i would instruct "more rudder more rudder". Something about the way the beast would abruptly snap around to align with the momentum. Very harsh on the gear. The 10 had a very responsive rudder, but you had to push firmly.

Try landing in a B52... IIRC, no need to de-crab at all, the wheels automatically align with the runway.