Question for Pilots: Aircraft Angled on Landings?

BradyLS

[BradyLS]

Hello! Pardon for the vanity, but I've finally decided to ask a question about something I've long wondered about. I as prompted by the current photo that Matt Drudge has posted of the latest Space Shuttle landing. (Sorry, but my linking skillz are teh suxors.)

Sometimes when watching footage of aircraft landing taken directly from the front or rear, (in movies, news clips, whatever) I've noticed that just before touchdown, the aircraft is often at a barely perceptible angle to the left or right of the approach, even though it is soaring straight down the runway. Almost as though it were landing a half-degree sideways just before the wheels touch down. Then it "straightens" out again as the aircraft brakes and slows down.

What is happening here?

[FReepaholic]

Crosswinds.

[Mugwump]

Itt’s called a “crab angle,” and it helps the aircraft stay straight down the runway in a crosswind.

[hole_n_one]

[threeoeight]

The pilot is correcting for side winds. He must keep the plane aligned to offset the thrust from the side wind. As soon as it touches down and has a “grip” on the runway, it straightens out. That is assuming the pilot knows what he is doing. I have been in a plane I sear was landing at a 20 degree angle to the runway on ice. I was really freaked. He set it down perfectly and we slowed down on the runway using thrust to align it as is pointed first right then left. He was a superb pilot.

[mnehring]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosswind_landing

[Straight Vermonter]

Nice video example here.

[idkfa]

TOP TEN Crosswind and Scary Aircraft Landings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X_7Xt2ga-s

[devane617]

WOW!!! What a freak’n place to land...Talk about flying...

[BradyLS]

Very cool! Thanks, everyone!

[bert]

Crabbing.... you point the nose into the wind enough to maintain a straight path down the runway.

You look at a wind sock to see the direction of the wind.
In theory, the runway is aligned with the prevailing wind, but of course the wind direction is continuously variable.

The runway number is your heading in degrees....runway 15 is a heading of 150 degrees.

[Red_Devil 232]

Wow! Some excellent answers and explanations to the question. Nice job FReepers. And the video in post 7 is excellent!

[realdifferent1]

Yeah, what you said!

Gotta' be careful here; you might learn something [to paraphrase Bill Cosby].

[Red_Devil 232]

Wow! Some of those were full throttle, I am out of here moments!

[Ready4Freddy]

Someone ought to find a pic of a B-52 landing in a crosswind - all of the 52’s landing gear is steerable, so you see the fuselage angled into the wind, and the gear pointed straight down the runway. Weird.

[Straight Vermonter]

Yeah, the big boys are banned there now after a crash this spring.

[Ready4Freddy]

Not the best pic, but this shows the wheels turned to the right.

[Straight Vermonter]

When it all goes wrong.

[djf]

crabbing.

[Straight Vermonter]

Almost as though it were landing a half-degree sideways just before the wheels touch down.

Or 45 degrees as the case may be.

Gotta see this.