Originally Posted by
AKAAB
From 19 years of personal experience as a captain on the A320, I can confidently state that 90%+ of the pilots I fly with don't put any crosswind correction in for the takeoff roll. On rotation with a strong crosswind, there is usually a rudder wag and quick correction as the nose comes up and the plane tries to simultaneoulsy roll away from the wind and weathervane into the wind. This fits what we know so far.
My inital instructor at Airbus told us to not use crosswind aileron inputs because the computers would take care of it and you didn't want to get spoiler extension. This was proved patently incorrect and it's now clearly spelled out in the FCOM. I had a new FO right out of IOE that could not land the plane. Upon discussing his difficulties, he said he was taught (at Airbus Miami) to never use cross-controls for landing. With some new knowlege and coaching, he was easily able to handle crosswinds. Again, I suspect there is some old, bad tribal knowledge still out there.
I'd place a bet on this being a factor.
my current manual:
Pilot Flying | Takeoff Expanded (continued)
At VR:
• ROTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15° THEN SRS
- At VR, initiate the rotation to achieve a continuous rotation with a
rate of about 3° per second, towards a pitch attitude of 15° (12.5° if
one engine is failed).
- Minimize the lateral inputs on the ground and during the rotation to
avoid spoiler extension.
- In strong crosswind conditions, small lateral stick inputs may be
used, if necessary, to aim at maintaining wings level.