Originally Posted by
stilton
You shouldn’t have to release any, just carefully and smoothly slide your feet up the rudder pedals while keeping the same input until you can operate the brakes
Otherwise it’s heels on the floor, better for control and avoiding inadvertent brake application
Absolutely. Coming from Boeings and having flown for many years into a home airport where strong crosswinds are the standard, I agree that as long as a person has developed the exact technique you described, it works great. I use it. Maintain the exact position and pressure on the pedals for the crosswind correction, while sliding the feet the pedals to initiate even braking. The tricky bit with Airbus rudder pedals is that they are LONG. If your foot is not ALL the way to the top (your toe will hit the stop on the top of the pedal), your braking will be uneven. Folks coming from other types often don't realize they are not using the entire pedal, and that full brake deflection is not possible unless you do so. If you regularly land the Airbus and wonder why you always have to hold the pedals one side or another even in calm wind, or have one side brakes that always heat up more, check you foot position and feel for the stop all the way up on the top of the pedals next time. For the same reason, the angle of the pedal is somewhat different than other types, so it is difficult to inadvertently brake even if your heels are up.
In other words both techniques work. The key point is to use whichever one gives you best control at all times, which is more than likely dependent on past experience and the shape of your foot and flexibility in your ankles! The other key is to again, make sure that both feet are all the way up to the top of the pedals during manual braking.