Originally Posted by
RichardJones
Well I have put a B707 down with 360/ 28 gusting 33 kts. Straight across. Zero crab. I long time ago. If it can be done Zero crab in a 707 surely it can be done on a 737. 707 less forgiving,
admittedly the 707 was at max landing weight which makes it easier. Cargo.
That was one of my best efforts. X wind.
Once the wind gets up and on wide bodies I think a zero drift touchdown can provide a great deal of trouble on so many levels - Boeing and Airbus test pilots don't really touch the rudder on a crosswind and land drift on during their extreme crosswind testing regime (get a video and frame by frame watch the rudder movement i.e. it is zero). I know that Airbus has the slip in their manuals but I don't think that they believe it is a good idea (honestly) - the bigger the aeroplane (especially with four engines) the better to land crab on - which makes the highest crosswinds easy to fly. Saves on engines, wing tips and the odd tail strike.