Right girls, listen up
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.
It has to be approved. Many pilots, many times will touchdown before pushing off drift. An aeroplane that is not cleared to land with full crab on simply isn't practical. It is usually 'not recommended', which means 'don't do it if you can avoid it'. Minor crab is nothing.
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.
Crab is simply a function of 2 things:
Crosswind vector
Aircraft speed
If the crosswind wasn't bad, the crab can't have been that bad, unless the airspeed was VERY low because of light weight. I doubt it was below a reasonable figure, and I did not get the idea it was extremely low from the vid. So your statements contradict themselves.
The more I read about this, the more I have to wonder about the wisdom of the Airbus fly-by-wire. Guys are saying you can/can't override the controls, use or not use the rudder on a x-wind, add power but the plane won't let you(?)- what the heck kinda flight control system is that? Then the whole "tight pattern" thing - sorry but you can bet those guys flew that whole airshow profile plenty of times in the simulator, practicing every possible scenario - engine out, flap problems, and yes, even (gasp)crosswinds! Isn't this thing supposed to be some kind of technological masterpiece? Surely it has all sorts of high-tech gee whiz to help a guy do a normal traffic pattern with what, a 8 knot xwind?
Sludge- I don't understand it either, but I know this. Whenever the Airbus boys are in a bar,
we do not under any circumstances ask such questions. The evening will be ruined whilst they rabbit on about Airbuses until we are all horizontal. You are either a Boeing person or an Airbus person, and 'ne'er the twain shall meet'. Just don't ask. But it seems to work for them (most of the time)- they always make the bar alive.
But by God give them an excuse and it all comes out non-stop whilst you notice the wimmin who were with you have disappeared. All you hear is '...... Law.... drone....drone Law.... drone...Law'.
I greatly fear that we are getting one soon. They will soon be among us again.