Crab touchdowns approved??
From a technical standpoint (from a taildragger pilot for whom touchdown in a crab is a surefire ticket to the weeds) how is it that a monster, heavy plane like the 380 can be approved for touchdown in a crab? Does the main gear castor like on the B52? If not, the stress on the tires and gear must be phenomenal. None-the-less, I can understand the need to plant the plane firmly and quickly, given the short-field requirements at KOSH. But, that crab?!?
In the AVWeb video, the entire right side of the plane can be seen from a viewpoint way to the left of the runway....... a very large crab angle to my (untrained) eye. I was in the crowd that day and the cross-wind wasn't that bad. GA taildraggers had been landing all morning on 36. It did appear that the 380"s turn onto final was pretty close, perhaps resulting in a less than stable approach, IMHO,
Regarding the possible closing of a busy runway if the 380 had not stopped in time to make the planned turn-off.......... The 380 arrived after the entire KOSH airport had been closed for the daily AirVenture airshow, so it would have had no impact on the "busiest tower in the world." The huge tug, which had been brought in special for this arrival, was fired up and standing by for any eventualities.
All of the controversy aside, the 380 put on a helluva show that day. The slow flight performance was awesome. And very quiet, too.
It may not make much (or any) money for Airbus, but the airlines flying it should make a killing.