Hi all, 

I just wanted some information regarding the use of the rudder on the Airbus A300/A310 during approach and landing. I can’t seem to find any answers online. Do you only use the rudder for the flare like with the A320, it’s not used in flight. Is this correct? 

Thanks,

Jonathan

The vast majority of commercial airliners (and certainly the A300/A310) have a yaw damper.  That, along with speed and inertia mean that these aircraft do not tend to require any rudder input once established in the climb (>200 KIAS) and into the cruise.

Rudder may certainly be required on take off and/or landing, where a crosswind is present.

Short Answer:   you would not use the rudder in cruise.

Yes. Rudder only during decrabbing in the flare. As with any other airliner

Feet on floor unless: taking off or landing with crosswind or other factors that may disturb the aircraft like sudden gusts, runway slopes ... Also required for non-normal situations where asymmetry happens in thrust or on control surface deployment, and may require rudder input while the pilot tries to trim the aircraft using ruder and / or aileron trim...

It's something that woud make me feel sleepy on my glider 🙂

12 hours ago, Jonathan93102 said:

I just wanted some information regarding the use of the rudder on the Airbus A300/A310 during approach and landing. I can’t seem to find any answers online. Do you only use the rudder for the flare like with the A320, it’s not used in flight. Is this correct? 

In general as others have said, you don't normally need it inflight. As you turn, roll spoilers and yaw damp systems kick in. For approach and landing, there has always been two methods used(rudder kick and wing low). Main point is to have the nose pointed and aligned down the runway at touch down. I personally feel that peeps will use the method that suits them. Take me for example, I like to warm my hands up and have my crosswind controls locked in by 300 feet AGL. I prefer not to try to figure out my flare and crosswind controls all at the same moment. There are some limitations with the wing low and they are engine pods. Take an aircraft like the KC-135R. The aircraft has been modified with bigger engines and now they are close to the ground. This will decrease your bank limit at touch down. In a strong crosswind, it may be better to rudder kick in the flare. 

In all, land as you wish. I remember when I was flying KC-10s, you would come a cross a person every blue moon who uses the rudder kick method. 10 times out of 10, they would be a former KC-135R pilot.  

1 hour ago, G550flyer said:

Take me for example, I like to warm my hands up and have my crosswind controls locked in by 300 feet AGL. I prefer not to try to figure out my flare and crosswind controls all at the same moment.

Thanks, that's useful advice. I was confused as to which method might be the suitable for x-wind landings in airliners. Does what you say equate to the side slip method? 

Thanks for all the replies and comments all. They’ve been most helpful. 

I have a good technique with the 737 but I got confused as Airbus Procedures can be different due to the FBW. I do know with the A320 you don’t really use the rudder at all until just before touch down in a crosswind. The A300/A310 got me a bit confused as they’re the first generation of Airbus. 

Thanks, Jonathan 

6 hours ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Thanks, that's useful advice. I was confused as to which method might be the suitable for x-wind landings in airliners. Does what you say equate to the side slip method? 

Yes. Every jet I flew didn't really have issues with it. In the DC10, the engines are below the wing, but you had a lot of engine clearance. I never flown airbus FBW aircraft, so it can be quirky. I once had this guy in the C-141B try the old rudder kick during some strong crosswind touch and goes. He said, hey, I'm going to use the ole decrab on this one. I don't know what he did on the controls, as I wasn't following him on the controls like you would a student. When he touched down, he still had a little crab in and the aircraft whipped sharply left and my Davy Clark's ended up twisted right and off my ears. I remember whispering into the hot mic "somethings off". He stated, enough of that and went back to the wing low method🤣. The 141 was a 4 engine heavy, but flew just like a Cessna with that nose down attitude on approach.

It's an interesting topic you brought up. During de-crabbing in crosswind takeoff/landing, FBW (Fly-By-Wire) has very little or nothing to do with it. As mentioned by Rick, there are two methods to handle this situation. Some allow you to use the wing low method, while others like B748 or A380 limit you to a maximum 8 degrees bank. Going beyond that will result in an engine pod strike, so the low wing (cross controls) technique won't work. Practicing and knowing your aircraft type is crucial, as there is no "one size fits all" solution.