Very nice landings !Thanks Paul.Fred.

That pilot that flew in about 2 min 31 seconds into the video was flawless. They all seemed a little rough on touchdown though. But given the weather conditions and short runway that was probably unavoidable.

I thought they were very good landings and great piloting skills.Fred.

Well this airport is a challenge even with "winds calm", imagine what this weather can do to your adrenaline! Too bad we are missing an FSX version of the "Aristarchos" airport, I would be a frequent visitor...

And I noticed the first two, didn't bother to de-crab before touchdown, even on a dry runway.I gather the 737 main gear can caster a few degrees, and handle a reasonable crosswind without issue.I would be interested in Fred's comments on that.

This airport could make a nice freeware scenery... :(. I just hope there is not one already!

Hmmm... I have none of the 737's seen decrabbing entirely just before touchdown, except for the dark blue 737 (dunno which airline that was...). So they decrab a little before touchdown, and finish the decrab after the main gear has touch down. Just like in do. :( Also they land quite rough, makes me feel good when I land not good. :( Although I land good most of the time...

According to the 737 manuals, no de-crab is fine on a wet runway, however, on a dry runway encouraged less.Seems to be ignored frequently though in reality, with many 737 pilots not de-crabbing at all, even in the dry.I guess Mr Boeing allows for such things, as there are so many different pilot skill levels and unpredictable environmental conditions.I understand, that due to the capability of the main gear to caster to a degree, like a supermarket trolley wheel many classic 737's can be seen taxiing slightly crabbed.Must look very weird from the rear. :Big Grin:I read somehwere, that due to the caster, a 15 knot crosswind with no de-crab is not a problem for the gear.They do land firm, the priority is not to float, landing in the right place is the priority rather than a greaser.

No de-crab here either.There seems to be way more that don't, than do.

And I noticed the first two, didn't bother to de-crab before touchdown, even on a dry runway.I gather the 737 main gear can caster a few degrees, and handle a reasonable crosswind without issue.I would be interested in Fred's comments on that.

Not a great idea to de-crab the 737 Classic or NG!One of the (if not the biggest) design headaches they had was fitting the new, fatter engines under the wings with the short landing gear. The original 737 had the old turbojet engines, which were longer but much thinner, so the landing gear was designed like you see it today. Then came the classic, and the NG, with its fat new engines. They couldn't redesign the main gear, which is why the 737 NG has such a unique engine mounting to keep the engines as high off the ground as possible. They almost seem to eat into the wing slightly. They're still very close to the ground though.Now when you de-crab, what else do you need to do? Drop a wing into the wind... and strike the engine pod on the runway.The aircraft will land just fine crabbed, just straighten it out as soon as you touch down and keep those wings level :)

You don't "need" to drop a wing into the wind though.The objective if de-crabbing, is to land without doing so, both of the main gear touchdown simultaneously, as you say, to avoid striking the engine nacelle.When de-crabbing, there is a tendency for the wing to dip when you apply the rudder, aileron input is required to land level.The Boeing manual does state that landing in-crab and de-crabbing are both permissible. But not de-crabbing is better on wet runways.It seems from the videos, that pilots tend to either not de-crab at all, or de-crab "a little" and leave the rest till the main gear touchdown.

I think airline cultures may vary on their perception in this regard.I've flown 737s at two carriers: one in Asia and one in the US. Most of the Asian pilots were trained to be afraid of crosswind landings. They vary rarely could land on centerline with no crab with any amount of crosswind. At the US carrier, the pilots would be embarrassed by some of the x-wind landings posted.Of course the Asians would be embarrassed by the lack of cockpit discipline and Confucian patriarchy, but I digress.

Not a great idea to de-crab the 737 Classic or NG!The aircraft will land just fine crabbed, just straighten it out as soon as you touch down and keep those wings level :)

??????? Yes, it's much, much better to keep the wings level :( but, as for the decrab, the comments made by others below yours make a lot more sense to me.

The original 737 had the old turbojet engines, which were longer but much thinner,

For the record, the original 737 had ....turbofan engines ( P&W JT8Ds). Granted, they were thinner but they were turbofans all the same.Rgds,Bruno

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