Minga,
Great video, have seen it many times before but never thought to analyze it in this way. My comments assume that you are relating this to teaching a student to land a light aircraft (due to the fact that you've posted in the Instructors forum) - if this is not correct, then I apologise.
In the first clip (777), would you agree that the pilot was a little late in applying right rudder to align the aircraft down the runway centreline?
Yes, I agree. But I would also add that I have done many landings like this (normally when waiting to see whether the student would kick it straight, and only kicking it straight myself when it's clear the student isn't going to) in light aircraft, and never found it to be a problem. In any tricycle aircraft, the aircraft will tend to straighten itself out after the main wheels touch, anyway, which makes this a fairly "easy" way to land an aircraft, although probably not the kindest on the gear. (However, don't try it in a tail-dragger!)
2. Would you agree that the third clip (777) in the series is the correct crab technique with correct application of right rudder and left aileron into the wind on touch down?
Again, yes. But I'd also add that it is
extremely difficult to get this right in any light aircraft. In a jet, the mass (and therefore the momentum) is sufficiently high that the aircraft will remain on the centre-line for some time after rudder is applied. In a light aircraft, as soon as you start applying rudder, the aircraft will begin to drift off the centre-line. So a crabbed approach in a light aircraft will almost always end up becoming a wing-low landing (even if not until the very last moment) unless the timing really is absolutely spot on. (In fact, in the clip, you can see the landing is slightly wing-low as the into-wind wheel touches slightly before the other main.)
It's also interesting to compare a jet's landing with that of a light aircraft. In the jet, there is a flare, but no hold-off where the aircraft is flown level before touching down. This is different to a light aircraft, where the student should be taught to fly the aircraft level above the runway until it lands itself. In a true crabbed landing in a light aircraft, the rudder will not be applied until the aircraft is in level flight a few feet above the runway - something which obviously can't be seen in the clips.
This is just my opinion - x-wind landings is one of those areas where 10 different pilots will give you 11 different ways of doing it, so I'm sure my reply will spark some debate.
FFF
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