Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 29, 2024

I filed IFR , mostly so that I could get the altitude I wanted without having to worry about cloud clearances, and so if some little squirt cumulus popped up, I could blast through it or just nick the side of it. Kentland has a 4,000-foot runway, east/west, with a crosswind straight out of the north.

Weather 52

Weather Runway Knot Rudder 52

iPad Pilot News

MARCH 27, 2025

Improve your stick and rudder skills as a private pilot go beyond the instrument checkride with these advanced courses. The app includes 65 airports and hundreds of potential scenarios, so you can practice getting an IFR clearance at a Class D airport, talking to tower at a Class C airport, or making position reports at a non-towered airport.

Weather 91

Weather Pilot Flight Plan Airplanes 91

Air Facts

APRIL 10, 2024

Rudder stomping landings in the Cessna 180 that hated to stay in a straight line on the ground. And then the landing near Palm Springs when I became a test pilot for the 182RG crosswind component. First cross country to California from Illinois. First loop in the Citabria. It hasn’t been all McGee touch the face of God poetry.

Pilot 52

Pilot General Aviation VOR Cockpit 52

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

In 1998, I joined a venerable flying club, Stick and Rudder Flying Club of Waukegan National Airport (KUGN). I requested permission to land, and received a clearance to land “any runway, any direction, any time.” I chose runway 14 (the UGN crosswind runway) and the crash and resuce vehicles moved onto the adjacent taxiway.

Pilot 98

Pilot Descent Runway Crosswind 98

Photographic Logbook

JANUARY 25, 2025

Thaws, rain, snow, and strong crosswinds can temporarily close the airport. Gilead and I, both trailing Ed, ran into dramatically lowering visibility and requested pop-up IFR clearances. I countered with aggressive right rudder and barely succeeded in keeping the plane on the runway. These were immediately granted.

Runway 68

Runway Airplanes Threshold Approach 68

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 16, 2024

With the F2, the rudder and vertical stabilizer are changed, with the rudder becoming a much smaller surface than before. You can sit there with full back stick, full aileron one way and full rudder the other, and its perfectly controllable. You might ask what happens with crosswind landings when you take away rudder authority.

Rudder 98

Rudder Airplanes Aileron Crosswind 98

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 3, 2024

Combining the Gweduck’s advanced hull with its counter-rotating propellers means differential power allows crosswind water taxiing impossible in floatplanes along with higher hull-in-water taxiing speeds. “We The only unconventional thing I noticed (as did the folks in back) was the rudder has a dead spot mid-travel.

Airplanes 79

Airplanes Rudder Knot Aileron 79

Pilot's Life Blog

JANUARY 5, 2025

Clear communication with air traffic control (ATC) is essential at this stage to receive landing clearance and avoid conflicts with other aircraft. Proper coordination of throttle, trim, and rudder inputs are critical during this phase of flight. Failing to anticipate gusts or crosswinds can make your landing unstable.

Descent 52

Descent Final Approach Approach Runway 52