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One advantage of weight shift control trikes.
So I was recently asked by a commercial airline pilot that was watching me practice numerous direct crosswind landings, how was I able to do that without a rudder. Here was part of my answer:
The disadvantage of trikes is that they have no rudder, The advantage of trikes is that they have no rudder. If you think about this it makes total sense. The trike has very limited surfaces that can catch the wind. Not having a rudder sticking way out behind the center of gravity means the wind can’t catch anything because there is nothing there to catch. So once on the ground if you can neutralize the effects of the wind on the wing you now have almost nothing for the wind to catch. A rudder acts as a big lever that can work against you at times.
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5 Replies
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Wind gusts are like the waves of the sea. They wax faster than they wain. So in a headwind a gust will add airspeed and altitude quickly and decrease speed aand altitude slowly = let you down to the runway gently. In a tailwind gust the plane loses airspeed and altitude abruptly and restores airspeed and lift slowly = smack down on the runway. If it is a significant gusting tailwind, request a change of runway before landing. Or any tailwinds because the gust factor is not precisely predictable.
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What’s the procedure for direct cross winds landing?
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Practice, practice and they are all the same, result wise anyway.
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A few tips:
1) Treat X wind landings like any other landing. The only difference is you stay in a crab and touch down crabbed.
2) you can add a touch of power in the flare to soften the touch. A soft touch is the key when on hard surface. In grass don’t even worry about it.
3) touch down on the “trailing” rear wheel. If the wind is coming from the right, touch on the right tire first. The right tire will slide, the left tire will bite.
Sliding for a 1/2 second will gently align the nose. Dropping the trike in a crab will make the tires bite on hard surface. Grass or dirt will ensure the tires slide.
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Supposed to be 10 mph winds Sunday. And I have 5 runways to practice on.
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