Ok I have been number two for landing on very windy days and I am happily slipping it in no problem at all and I am watch the “professional” do all of this crazy $h1t, trying to flare and correct wing level and straighten the fuselage out all at once, should be illegal IMO. So there must be a reason for it. What doesn’t make sense are people telling me there is not enough rudder authority to side slip BUT aren’t you in essence doing a side slip right at flare about 50 feet off the ground when crabbing in a cross wind? It is crazy watching this from my point of view. I would appreciate an explanation to someone who has been flying for years, I fly commercial and some of the crap that goes on drives me crazy and this is one of them.
Just because you do not understand it does not make those of us that have tens of thousands of hours flying in every possible kind of weather wrong.
It is NOT about having enough rudder, it is about not catching a wing tip, and the rudder blanking you get in a slip in a swept wing. In most respects it is roll authority (aileron) that is lacking in a serious crosswind. Even if you could slip enough, you would catch a wing tip. At the same time, a slip in a swept wing interrupts airflow across the rudder, compounding the problem.
Any pilot that has any modicum of experience in a swept wing aircraft will tell you the same thing: you should NEVER slip until you are in ground effect.
In the landing at ORD, if you notice, as the upwind wheel touches, the pilot brings the nose more in alignment with the runway. In a bad enough crosswind that is all you can do. Once the upwind wheel is on the ground, before the downwind wheel touches, you can swing the nose around so there is little crab left, so the side load is minimized.
If you can’t accept a professional opinion, consider the fact that one of the largest rudders ever put on an aircraft was on the B-52. It was not because of a lack of rudder that the B-52 has rotation “crab” landing gear (the crew cranks in a hand crank the angle of wind before landing - moving the direction of the main gear). They always land in a flat out crab in a crosswind. It is not because of a lack of rudder - it is because the upwind wing will be in the concrete in a crosswind slip.
Standard landing in Reno!