Landing the 737 fully crabbed

[sheppey]

So are there any 737 drivers who land it fully crabbed in strong crosswinds?

Have seen this in the simulator countless times. Usual reason is "because the book says I can." The real reason is these pilots lack the flying ability to touchdown with no drift.

Crosswind landing practice is given low priority during recurrent or type rating simulator training so by the time the pilots get on line they are very apprehensive of crosswinds. They fall into the trap of just planting the aircraft with significant difference between runway heading and actual aircraft heading with a near enough is good enough head in the sand attitude.

There is considerable skill and good timing required to touch down with all drift removed. Some pilots have this natural good judgement while others haven't. The place to hone that skill is in the simulator. Ideally that simulator has proper fidelity. Repeated approaches from 300 feet in strong crosswinds is all that most pilots need to gain proficiency. After all, isn't that why we have simulators?

This scribe has yet to operate a Level D full flight simulator that does not closely replicate the real thing in crosswind take off and landings - otherwise it should not be certified. Where is the training priority in a simulator? A manually flown consistently accurate touch down with drift removed a fraction before touchdown - or - a fully automatic flown ILS with both pilots hands on knees monitoring. I know which one I would admire as a demonstration of pure flying skill..