So I completed my long cross country solo yesterday in a Cessna 172. Winds on the Taf were variable 6kts. However, there were some 10-15kts gusts reported by ATC. I know for all you experienced pilots this is probably nothing, but it really had me nervous. I had to land at 3 different airports, one of which had direct crosswind according to the wind sock, but the sock kept changing direction. My landing at this airport was embarrassing. I didn't land hard or anything, but found it very difficult to maintain center line and was using heavy rudder to keep it lined up and probably 15 degree or so bank. I ended up about 10-15 foot from the runway edge (75' runway) when I touched down.
So I'm looking for tips and what I should have done better. I know I should have probably gone around and try again, but I have this darn mentality that I need to land it. I landed the same configuration as a normal calm day, full flaps ~65kts final. I think what got me was the winds kept changing on final / bouncing me around. I believe most of my training has been in fairly calm winds or mostly direct winds down the runway so this was somewhat unfamiliar to me.
Would less flaps / faster speed have made it more controllable in this situation?
Sorry if this is saying the same thing twice redundantly.
I'm going to agree with what everyone, mostly, has said. I've been making and NOT making landings since 1977. I've been flying an LSA taildragger these past few years and my ratio of go arounds to landings has gone way, way up. This past Saturday circumstances led me to misjudge an approach in a nose-dragger and even though I made an aggressive effort to save it I knew from the moment I turned final this would end in my going around. Stuff happens.
1) Good landings are nearly impossible without a good approach. So your first priority is a stable (define it as you wish) well sorted approach.
2) I treat all crosswinds the same in all aircraft, from airliners (I haven't flown an airliner since 1996 so take that part with a grain of salt) to LSA. Even if you crab down the approach, as airliners do, you must at some point make the nose go straight and stay in the center of the runway.
3) To do this you must "steer with your hands" (something your flight instructor has drilled out of you) and "point" with your feet. Your ailerons keep you over the center line, your feet keep the nose straight. It is never "set and forget." You will always be correcting from the flare through the roll out. Other than this there is no "right" or "wrong" way to handle the crosswind - do what works. A gust may force the plane to the right and the nose to the right. If this happens then I'm putting in left aileron to keep over the centerline and left rudder to keep the nose straight. I mentally disconnect the two. More often you will be cross controlled but that is okay as well - expected even.
4) The peanut gallery will forget all about your landing after the next guy messes up so your true goal is to do no harm and you'll incur no foul. Except for that one agent at KBMI in about 1992 who thereafter would never let me forget that I had made a "firm" landing. But I had my reasons related to how the anti-skid in the aircraft worked and the amount of snow on the runway and the 20KT crosswind. Still I was teased for the remainder of my career. Teasing is better than sliding off the side of the runway.
5) Flaps, no flaps. I don't make reduced flap landings (well in my plane there are no flaps) unless there is a malfunction or I want to practice. Here is why. The usual reason you need to go faster on a windy day is so that you don't run out of rudder or airspeed. So you bump your speed to accommodate the wind, but this will never exceed the Vfe for the ship. What will happen if you go reduced flap/flapless is your sight picture in the flare will be different than what you are accustomed to. Your landing will be flatter risking a wheel barrow. (Note: in the ATR-72 and many other larger aircraft reduced flap landings run a serious risk of hitting the tail). Your additional speed will present its own ground handling problems. So I don't see the point. I will note that in some aircraft, a C-170 for example, my normal landing is flaps 30 as flaps 40 is just too much drag.
One last point. Even in a nose dragger don't stop flying the airplane until it is tied down or otherwise secured. Then, and only then, the flight is over.
). Greased that one. One thing my CFI has instilled in me is there is absolutely no harm in going around and he actually has said he likes to see when the students opt to go around - it gives him a better feel for their decision making when he's not around. When in doubt, throttle out!
