Well, if it's good enough to prop up the whole of the world economy-as I'm sure you know 'In God we trust' is writ large on the US dollar bill-then I'm sure he/she/it can keep li'l ol me up in the air...:)

@thing: Not sure if this comparison should really make you feel comfortable :E

A half decent pilot should be able to use either technique. Does it really matter which one is used?

thing ;)

No God is too busy for that he has an Army of Angels looking after us lot :ok:

i often refer to the fact that I have a very good Angel looking after me :E until a Pilot friend said he hoped she did not take a day off sometime :{

Pace

Nope. As I said earlier, even a crab approach turns into a wing down approach somewhere along the line, (well it should do if you do it proper like) even if it's at the back end of the flare.

Amen to that.

why? Explain ????

Pace

Can't believe I'm explaining stuff to Pace! I feel all grown up now.

So you're coming in let's say with a crosswind from the right. You are crabbing off, nose right. All is good. You come to the flare and what do you do? At the appropriate moment you gently apply left rudder and right aileron to touch down right wheel first, your controls are crossed ergo you are in the moment before touchdown doing a slip approach!

If there's anything else I can advise you on please don't hesitate to ask...:}

;) I need loads of things explaining and I get it wrong plenty of times too :{
I am
Just being pedantic in the sense that as the aircraft comes straight maybe nearly the point you touch, secondly if you fly it on your flair maybe more of a check than a flare! Again we are presuming hanging in the air waiting for the aircraft to sink five feet

Pace

There are degrees of precision in most every en devour in our lives,flying is only one example.

For sure we can fly with rather wide margins of precision and not wreck airplanes....however if it is not all that difficult to be very precise in our ability to judge closing distance to the landing area and be very precise in judging the height of the wheels from the runway then why not strive for that level of proficiency?

A good example of the ability to accurately judge height would be a skill that is mandatory for aerial applicators when applying chemicals that require an accuracy of one or two feet from the start to the finish of the application run.

How long do you think an Ag. pilot would last if thy could not judge height very accurately?

Think of it like this:

You fly a crabbed approach. It's easy to do, doesn't upset the passengers. At some point you need to kick it straight.

If you are a Sky God you kick it straight 5 microseconds before the mains hit the hard, but for the rest of us what happens is that you straighten up at about 6 feet and immediately begin to drift off the center-line. So a bit of into wind aileron keeps you straight. After a while this becomes instinctive - all you do is fly down the center-line ........... there has to be a bit of wing down in there or you'd be going somewhere else, but it isn't something one thinks about.

It's the same as everything else in piloting: you need to learn a method to get you started. After a while all you do is fly the thing straight at the runway and down the center while you're juggling the loss of height, aiming at the threshold, getting the speed & attitude right ............ easy after an hour or two .....

Chuck

Or those amazing guys who water skim their tyres on the smooth surface of a lake

Pace

I have to admit that I do not consider that exercise to be a mark of professionalism, in fact I personally think it is reckless disregard for safety and a display of poor airmanship.

Yes, I do feel that I do have the mechanical ability to perform such a stunt...but my personal decision making process tells me the reward is not worth the risk......and I would be uncomfortable trying to explain why I was water skiing with a wheel equipped airplane if for instance the engine quit while doing it and I survived the crash. :ok:

I agree completely, When I used to fly gliders I would hold off feeling the swish of the grass against the mainwheel, so was maybe an inch or two above the deck, and revel in the fact that I could do that. However I still don't have a clue how I do it! I just fly it so that it looks and feels right. You know when it's going tits so you just make those unconscious movements to correct.

Chuck

Maybe reckless but still amazing precision flying nonetheless :ok:
And an example of why landing is not just about stalling it on

Pace Nb sure someone will put a clip up here for others to see

two questions.

1. in the C172, is there some sort of limitation about slipping with full flaps?

Ihaven't flown one in 30 plus years,

2. IF the wing low crowd is flying an ILS to minimums in a rain storm with a crosswind, how do they fly the instrument portion correcting for changing winds during the descent?


just wanting to know, not trying to Peeeee anyone off

Your ability do do that was generated by either very good instruction or from self learning of what the picture looks like....what part of the picture gives you the best accuracy and the desire for precision.

The fact that you can do it is the main issue...I would not over think the how part at this point if I were you.:O.

Exactly my point in a previous post about if it ain't broke don't fix it!

Have to say Chuck that I've been incredibly lucky and had some of the best instructors around in both gliding and powered, guys who live and breathe flying. Plus I belong to a club that has some of the most experienced pilots around, ex mil FJ, ex mil CFS instructors, airline pilots, warbird pilots, you name it we got 'em. Just listening to the talk at the tea bar is worth it's weight in gold. I guess it rubs off.




1. Yes.

2. I had been thinking along the same lines. If you're 6 miles out and flying an ILS in an interesting xwind do the 'slippers' slip it or do they allow for wind and crab it? I obviously would offset for the wind ie crab it. Can't see as you could do anything else TBH as you have no visual reference to hold the slip to.

Chuck an example of water Skimming :E Also an example of why landing an aircraft is not only about stalling it on 6 feet above the runway in strong crosswinds :ok: Fly it on! Maybe sitting in a crosswind 6 feet up having to go cross control is not the best way at all ?

These guys are totally unprofessional. mad as hatters and an example of bad airmanship ? :ok: But somehow good for them :ok:and an excellent example of how an aircraft can land at any speed not just stalled on. Before anyone suggests it I am not talking about landing at cruise speed but flying it on at maybe 5-10 KtS above the stall speeds especially with a good headwind component. Remember too with that tiny bit extra speed in strong wind you will have better control authority than at the stall.

Pace

Yes Pace beyond doubt one can water ski a wheel equipped airplane and they do.

However when I am asked is it professional I can not think of any time during my career that I was asked to demonstrate the ability to water ski a wheel equipped airplane.

Even when renewing my Airdisplay Authority every year in Europe they never asked me to display that skill even though there was water nearby that was quite suitable for such a demo.

When I put that activity to the risk assessment to the reward test I find it to be not worth the risk......just imagine explaining to any regulatory body why you were doing that if you wrecked the airplane and lived.

How about this for a good show?