Crosswind landings were the order of the day for lesson 4. The winds were kicking up pretty good on Friday afternoon as the Memorial day weekend was officially underway. I got off work at 3:30pm and drove the half mile over to SFTI and greeted Lyn. Pre-flight...double and triple checked the fuel caps...both intact and accounted for! ;) We departed Boulder for Ft. Collins-Loveland airport (FNL) with its longer 8500 ft runway-- its about a 10 min flight northeast from our location.
As I said in my previous post, Lyn wanted to get up there for the longer runway but didn't really say why? So off we go, everything is feeling pretty comfortable for me now. At this point I had 4.5 hrs of flight time under my belt and although I was far from a polished TW pilot, I was safe and felt like my skills were adequate to build on.
As we arrived at FNL, the AWOS was reporting winds at 18 kts G24 at 60 degrees to the runway! Oh boy, this is pretty close to a direct 15 kt crosswind component (I didn't do the calcs, just guessing...). 15 kts is typically the max recommended crosswind component for most light GA aircraft like the one I am flying.
It was time to put my new found stick and rudder skills to the test as this was going to be quite a challenge for this green TW pilot, but I was up for it...even a little excited for the task ahead. If I could land in this, I would feel pretty comfortable handling most windy days. As I'm thinking this on our downwind leg, I hear an experimental taking the crosswind runway for a takeoff into the wind...this was not a crosswind he wanted to tackle if he didn't have to, can't say as I blame him. Hmm, maybe I'm being a little over-confident?
I come around on final, line up with the centerline and dip my left wing into the wind and apply some right rudder to hold my track. So far so good, same as a tri-gear, all is well as I proceed to my aiming point. The gusting winds always make things interesting however...I'm making lots of small control movements to maintain a stable approach...glideslope-check...airspeed-check...centerline-check. The pilots out there know what I mean, to the non-pilots I'll just say this is a high workload environment on an approach as you get jostled around with gusting winds and wind shear.
I come down over the runway, level off and slowly pull the power to idle as we cross the fence, then wait for the plane to dissipate some energy before starting my flare. When this happens, I know the airplane is ready to land and I ease the nose up just slightly. I added 5mph (80mph) to my approach speed because of the gusting winds so I'm intentionally a little fast and have more energy to bleed off so it takes a little longer. I set down on my left main gear, wing still tucked into the wind. We hover there for a moment on one wheel, next comes my right main...I'm still on centerline, perfect technique so far.
As the plane starts to slow and I'm thinking there's nothing to this crosswind landing stuff...I am once again quickly humbled at the controls of an airplane.
Let me explain. Most pilots will use a wheel landing for crosswinds so they can carry the extra speed for greater control authority during the landing roll. I had the same plan as you can tell from my description. The main flaw, and well known, with this strategy is there is a vulnerable time as the landing develops. As the airspeed slows and the tail is still in the air, rudder effectiveness begins to disappear. Obviously having the tail in the air, with a crosswind trying to weathervane your nose into the wind, and no rudder control is a bad position to be in. So getting the tailwheel on the ground as soon as possible for steering control is paramount.
But...alas, its not that simple since you cant lower it too soon (or too abruptly) or you will increase the angle of attack on the wing and before you know it you'll be airborne again and bouncing down the runway! Ask me how I know this. Its very much a 'feel' maneuver to know when and how fast to lower the tail on a crosswind wheel landing. Of course I had read all about this in my book, but reading is one thing, "doing" is an entirely different matter.
Of course, this 4.5 hr TW pilot doesn't have that 'feel' yet. As I start to lower my tail, albeit a little too slowly and I consequently get caught in 'no-man's land' and lose my rudder effectiveness, we start weathervaning into the left crosswind...ie, the nose goes left along with the occupants. When this starts happening in a TW aircraft, things get interesting in a hurry. So much different than a tri-gear. You really have to step up the urgency with control inputs before things get out of hand...a ground loop can occur very quickly if not.
So I wrestle control of the airplane back as I veer back to the right...and then again to the left, I finally get my tailwheel down and line us back up for takeoff...zoom, off we go. I take a deep breath, crab into the wind, and think...wow, now that was interesting! ;) And almost on cue like he was reading my mind, Lyn makes a sarcastic comment from the back, "that was an interesting diversion" he chirps into the intercom. And, like always with Lyn and I we both chuckle. This doesn't suck, it's a lot of fun for a guy with a passion for flying...I am having the time of my life! :)
Next time we come around I'm thinking, alright got that one out of the way...now I know what to expect. I figure I'll do much better on this one. As we come down on short final, its not to be, Lyn unexpectedly asks for the controls. A little confused, but in no mood to question him right now as we are on short final...I respond, "your airplane." He counters with "my airplane"...for the non-pilots, these are typical control exchange responses during flight training.
Lyn brings us down, again, left wing low into the wind. We level off and he keeps a little power in...right above the runway...inches from the ground. We fly the entire length of the runway in this wing low attitude...holding centerline and momentarily touching down softly on just our left main gear. Its a great training exercise and really a lot of fun. He gives the controls back to me when we reach the end of the long runway.
Coming around again...you can only guess whats coming. He says, "now you do the same thing...but do it better than I did." I laugh and say..."sure Lyn, not a problem!" And with that, I gotta tell ya I think I pulled it off...I may have actually done a better job than my instructor. Granted he is flying from the back seat and wasn't warmed up...but hey, I'll gladly take it and was proud of my effort.
With this maneuver, even more so than the final approach because we are so close to the ground, the minute control inputs with the rudder, stick and throttle were fast and furious to keep the plane where I wanted it all the while fighting mother nature's mischievous attempts to disrupt my plans. "Woo hoo, that was a kick" I say into the intercom! Although I wanted to do it again, we went back to normal crosswind landings.
We did 4 landings here with these crosswinds before Lyn said he thought we had reached the limit of the aircraft as it was getting difficult to hold centerline. We then flew over to Longmont for 5 more landings, this runway was directly into the wind so it was much easier to manage. Since I already felt comfortable with my 3 point landings, I practiced my wheel landings, which I also felt comfortable with by the end of this lesson. One of which could be described as pretty darn close to perfect. I received a congratulatory 'nice job...I liked that landing' comment from Lyn...always nice to hear in my headset.
All told, we did 10 more touch and goes and logged 1.9 hrs of flight time (6.4 hrs total now). For most people, this might be the point where you would be signed off for a tailwheel endorsement. Since I have to build up 15 hrs so I can rent the Citabria from SFTI, I will continue my training with the other things I want to cover. We are going to try to get a mountain flight in next time...we'll see if the winds cooperate?
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