Air Facts

JULY 15, 2024

I did a checkride in 30 knot winds in the flatlands of Kansas, almost straight down the runway. I’ve landed in strong winds enough times that 30 knots can seem routine, as long as it’s reasonably aligned with the runway. Until I was porpoising down the runway like a first-time student. The lower I got, the worse it became.

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Knot Crosswind Rudder Turbulence 98

AV Web

FEBRUARY 25, 2025

I once had the opportunity to fly my vintage V-tail Bonanza to Washington-Dulles International Airport to report on the opening of a Signature Flight Support facility there. In any event, with winds from the north, Approach vectored me to a crosswind to downwind for Runway 01R, which was convenient for the GA ramp at the north end.

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Crosswind Runway Approach Tail 86

Vintage Aviation News

OCTOBER 18, 2024

What you do is you sit up high for takeoff and as you add power and the tail comes up almost immediately, very quickly. At that point, you’re simply looking down the runway, and then it lifts off. The tail touched down hard, but to save the landing—and the airplane—Storo put power to it and went around for another approach.

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Airplanes Crosswind Tail Cockpit 124

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Kentland has a 4,000-foot runway, east/west, with a crosswind straight out of the north. Nobody answered on unicom, and the facilities were at the west end of the airport, so I decided on left traffic for Runway 27. After I turned off the runway, I saw the traffic… a crop duster. What the…?

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Weather Runway Knot Rudder 73

Flight Training Central

JANUARY 27, 2025

From misjudging the flare to battling crosswinds, these mistakes can challenge pilots of all experience levels. 1) High Roundout Sometimes when the airplane appears to temporarily stop moving downward, the roundout has been made too rapidly and the airplane is flying level, too high above the runway.

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Airplanes Runway Accelerated Stall Lift 89

Vintage Aviation News

APRIL 25, 2025

Landing the 727 at Meigs Field would be a challenge, as the runway there was just 3,900-feet (1,200 m), but the airline had a capable crew to take N7017U on its final flight, with Captain B.C. After a low pass for the public and the press that had gathered to watch, Captain Thomas made the approach on runway 36 north.

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Cockpit Pilot Ceiling Rudder 83

NAFI

MARCH 3, 2024

He made the appropriate calls when taxiing across runways, departing, arriving, and so on. The one that wasn't too bad was the call on CTAF where a pilot in "November XYZ" was about five miles to the west landing on a particular runway. Right on top of that we received "[Airport], [Tail number] five north, landing."

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Runway Tail NOTAMs Crosswind 40

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

As we pushed back, the colors popped on the various tails parked down the row of gates, and we sat in line for takeoff with the low sun angle perfectly lighting a yellow Spirit Airbus against an ominous dark sky, save for the rainbow that arched high across the vista. Our numbers matched.

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Runway Approach Knot Jet 52

Northstar VFR

JULY 21, 2024

As air flows over it, a force like lift results, and the tail is pulled in the opposite direction of the deflection. But instead of an upward force of lift on a wing, it’s a horizontal force pushing the tail of the plane causing the nose of the plane to move left and right. This is especially vital during crosswind landings.

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Rudder Airplanes Pilot Stability 52

Pilot Institute

MARCH 26, 2024

Unlike paved runways, every soft landing surface is different. Obstructions: Ensure the runway is clear of obstacles, from stones to animals. You can walk down the length of the runway. If the runway is too wet, it might be temporarily closed. They’re happy to tell you the status of the airport and runways.

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NOTAMs Runway Approach Descent 52

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Kentland has a 4,000-foot runway, east/west, with a crosswind straight out of the north. Nobody answered on unicom, and the facilities were at the west end of the airport, so I decided on left traffic for Runway 27. After I turned off the runway, I saw the traffic… a crop duster. What the…?

Weather 52

Weather Runway Knot Rudder 52

Photographic Logbook

JULY 6, 2024

dove for pattern altitude, and managed the noise sensitive areas around the airport as best we could by entering the pattern on a midfield crosswind for runway 33. I ran the performance numbers for Warrior 481 during my original flight planning and, with an added margin of safety, the available runway distance looked a little tight.

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Pilot Flight Plan Air Traffic Control General Aviation 52

Pilot Institute

APRIL 12, 2025

Helicopters use a small rotor mounted on the tail that produces sideways thrust to counter the main rotors torque reaction. The tail rotor pushes air to one side ( action ), and the tail moves the other way ( reaction ). Other Designs The tail rotor is not the only way to solve the torque reaction problem.

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Lift Thrust Torque Aileron 52

Pilot Institute

APRIL 5, 2024

When the wind is blowing across the runway instead of along it, things get more challenging. In this article, we’ll cover all you need to know to confidently master crosswind landings. Key Takeaways Manage crosswind landing challenges using the crab and sideslip techniques. A runway excursion can quickly follow.

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Crosswind Longitudinal Axis Aileron Rudder 52

Air Facts

APRIL 21, 2025

However, the tail went that way, and the nose headed for the trees on the left and things got interesting quickly. I learned right there that a side slope acts like a crosswind, and the tail goes with the slope and the nose points to the hill. Steep grades: Banks Ranch (62AR) has five unique runways. Simple, right?

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Density Altitude Tail Runway Crosswind 52

Photographic Logbook

JANUARY 25, 2025

When bay ice consistently thickens to over 12 inches, a team of dedicated volunteers collaborates with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to open the Alton Bay Ice Runway. Over the years, its coveted status as the only FAA-authorized ice runway in the continental United States has endeared it to aviators seeking novelty.

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Runway Airplanes Threshold Approach 68

Air Facts

AUGUST 21, 2024

More turns, steep banks, and soon enough I spot her orange kayak in the lake just off the end of runway 9. I make the turn off the runway, another radio call, and I taxi to the pumps. The trip home will be fast and I think through my arrival—wind from the east, a tailwind headed back, and right traffic for runway 9.

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Groundspeed Runway Approach Crosswind 98

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

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. There was no one else on the taxiways or in the airspace. And she was not kidding.

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Pilot Descent Runway Crosswind 98

Vintage Aviation News

MAY 16, 2024

While these did several passes in formation and then tail chasing a de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk performed aerobatics overhead. There was a fickle crosswind and it was interesting to see Dodge’s first landing attempt given away when caught by a gust just before touchdown and to come back and make a perfect landing the second time.

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Crosswind Jet Weather Tail 52

Plane and Pilot

JANUARY 7, 2025

Once youre used to those key differences, flying and landing a Stearman (without much crosswind, wink wink) is just as enjoyable, if not more, than a Cub. Imagine rolling down the runway, feeling like youre in a rocket ship, only to feel a metaphorical afterburner kick in that catapults you towards the sky.

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Airplanes Tail Pilot Jet 98

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 16, 2024

Planespotters note the F2’s separate ailerons and flaps, conventional tail. Out back, theres an entirely new tail. Theres an unusual duck tail between the two elevator halves that provides a measure of anti-stall behavior. You might ask what happens with crosswind landings when you take away rudder authority.

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Airplanes Rudder Aileron Crosswind 98

AV Web

APRIL 15, 2025

Student pilots get a free pass, because theyre adorable skittering off runways in Loss of Directional Control (LODC) events that vex the best among us. It had cut into the tail rotor gearbox, tearing it off the helicopter. At Ocracoke, North Carolina, an RV-6 (tailwheel version of 6a) landedtechnicallywith a 90-degree crosswind.

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Pilot Airplanes Runway Descent 52