Crosswind landings in the RV-6

[GTI 0]

Hi everyone, first time posting here. I'm not new to flight sims (always had some version of Microsoft's Flight Simulator lying around) but I never got too serious with them so I'm definitely a noob compared to most people here. With that said, I'm loving Flight so far and I find that I'm having quite a bit more fun than with FSX.At the moment, I'm flying using a crappy joystick but plan on getting a yoke and pedals when the budget allows. I find that one of my favorite things to do in Flight is crosswind landings but I'm having a bit of difficulty in the RV-6 after I touch down.I tried this scenario a couple of times last night, always with the same outcome. I have a crosswind blowing from the right, at about 16kt. Right before I touch down, I use left rudder to straighten the plane and manage to land fine. The problem starts when, after touching down and still having full left rudder applied, the RV-6 begins to veer to the right (into the wind). This is a bit puzzling to me. I tried using the left brake (Z key) with limited success. If I press and hold it, it applies too much brake and I end up spinning out whereas if I keep tapping it repeatedly it doesn't do much at all. Am I missing something or is this a case where you need pedals with toe brakes so that you have fine analog control over how much brake you're applying?I should also add that I turned the rudder sensitivity down to 0.8 because I found the default setting too twitchy. Would this make it any less effective when you need lots of rudder?Any tips appreciated!

[jcomm 6,096]

You should use forward stick to "tie" it to the ground after touching down.When you descend in a crab (nose oriented upwind), you begin by uncrabing while at the same time lowering the upwind wing.This may be tricky on a low wing aircraft, thus you'll probably end up touching down not aligned with the rw axis. If you'reexceding the max demonstrated crosswind component for that aircraft then you most surely end up ligned a bit upwind.After landing, try to mantain centerline AND use full forward stick too.Regarding the mods in the axis sensitivity, by editing the XML file, I believe it may in fact imapct rudder authority, but I'm not sureif it is a modifier of the axis linearity (making it non linear) or if it reduces the total amount od deflection.

[N6330V 0]

Also, don't forget aileron deflection.

[keithb77 314]

And assuming you are using flaps to land, retract them after touchdown to reduce any remainng lift and put more weight on the wheels.CheersKeith

[GTI 0]

I hadn't been doing most of the things you guys suggested so this has been a lot of help! I'll give it another go and see how it goes. I'm sure once I get a proper yoke/pedal setup it will be quite a bit easier too instead of having to struggle with the joystick all the time.

[Rush1169 0]

What's tickled me about X-wind landings is that I suck at them and I used to think I was good based on 'other' flight sims. . .Soft landing, but off center. On center but too hard. Too much side load, hard landing, and off center. . .the good news is that I seem to get better most every time and I'm doing a LOT more adjusting VS with throttle than ever. . .

[Xpendable 0]

What the above guys said. When you are flying straight and level, the wing is generating lift 100% upwards, or vertically. I call that the vertical component. When the wing is banked, that lift now also divided between a vertical component and a horizontal component. Maybe 90% of the lift is vertical and 10% of the lift is now horizontal. In fact, it is this horizontal component that allows your plane to turn. It is NOT the rudder that turns the plane in the air like many non-pilots believe. The rudder actually is actually used to correct for what is called "adverse yaw". It really is the the horizontal component of the lift from a banked wing that pulls the plane into a turn. I like to think of this as the wing being "sucked" into a turn, which isn't far from the truth at all. When a wing is developing lift, it is the low pressure created above the wing which actually "sucks" the wing up.When you are approaching to land with a crosswind and you are over the end of the runway, you want the upwind wing to be lowered. To keep the plane from turning, you use the rudder to keep the nose pointed straight forward. In fact, you will be using opposite rudder. When you do this, you are compensating for the wind that would blow your plane across the center line. Remember that a banked wing creates a horizontal component of lift. So if the wind is coming from my right, I want to dip the right wing. As an example, If the wind is a full 90 degree crosswing at 5 knots, I'll need to dip the right wing enough to generate a 5 knot horizontal component in the opposite direction to null out the wind drift. This will keep my plane from blowing off the centerline to the left. If I dip my wing too much, I'll have a horizontal component that is greater than the 5 knot wind and I'll start to see my plane drift to the right. That's my que that I need to lesson the dip of the right wing, which will allow me to be blown back to the left over towards the centerline. Once I get back to the centerline, I'll need to dip the right wing a tad more to again null out the drift from the wind. If I start drifting too much to the left, then the wind is greater than my horizontal component -- then that's my que that I need to dip the right wing more so that I can get back to the centerline. Keep in mind that this is all happening BEFORE the wheels touch down. Another thing that most non-pilots do not realize is that in a proper crosswind landing, you will actually touch down on the upwind main wheel FIRST, then you will touch down on the downwind wheel afterwards. You do not want to touch down on both mains at the same time.Here's a decent King Schools video to help you see what I am talking about:

Also so info about forward slips and sideslips.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slip_(aerodynamic)#Forward-slip_vs._SideslipIn the Cessna 172, I'll usually crab into the wind (forward slip) on approach but switch to a side slip (upwind wing down) somewhere around 15-25 feet AGL. Some pilots delay this until the last few feet, which is commonly referred to as "kicking out the crab". Usually this requires more experience.

[NismoRR 191]

Here's a vid of me doing a small slip, and coming out of it to land, somewhat like kicking out the crab during a crosswind landing.

[fastcarfastplane 0]

probably shouldn't be using any flaps for x-wind landings...each plane is different i guess, you'd have to look up the RV-6 operators manual and read about it. anyways, i've noticed its basically impossible to truly slip in this game, which is the method i use in real life....so i've been trying to crab....just waiting to rip the landing gear off. lol!

[Xpendable 0]

@NismoRR : I like your video. The Skycatcher looks like a fun plane, unfortunately I think it's too small for me! I'm 6'5" 300 lbs.

[Rush1169 0]

Here's a vid of me doing a small slip

Nice - 1,320XP

[NismoRR 191]

@NismoRR : I like your video. The Skycatcher looks like a fun plane, unfortunately I think it's too small for me! I'm 6'5" 300 lbs.

Yeah, the useful load on the SkyCatcher is it's weakest point. Plane is 834, 1320 max takeoff, 1/2 tank of gas is 150lbs (12 gallons), so with 1/2 tank you have 344lbs left. Nice plane though and great avionics with the G300 Garmin. I'll tell you, after starting my Flight addiction last week, I want to go to Hawaii and do some flying!!. Would love to a few touch and goes at Hana! I have to find out if they have any SkyCatchers out there, or any LSA for that matter.

Nice - 1,320XP

1320 stinks! That's not even silver. I was just slightly left of center. Flight may have even given +500 for that! LOL