"Toks Desalu" wrote in message
news:U9Gdc.102757$gA5.1365141@attbi_s03...
[...] I wanted to hear how the experienced pilots out there on how
to handle strong crosswinds and how they expand their comfortable zone.
Obviously, you can't jump in the plane and fly through nasty winds that is
outside your comfortable zone. Do they continue to fly with instructor and
practice with winds that is outside their comfortable zone? Or do they
learn
to land by 'trial and errors', praying that they don't crash the plane?

You can, to some extent, know whether you'll be able to land the airplane
well before you actually get near the runway, using a slip to correct for
the crosswind on final approach. You have some room for error, because
winds usually are lower as you get close to the ground, due to friction
(though, they sometimes get more turbulent too), and also simply because
most tricycle gear airplanes are somewhat tolerant of landing with some
side-load or yaw or both (they tend to straighten out on their own).

That said, if one is so unconfident that they are literally "praying that
they don't crash the plane", then yes...flying in crosswinds with an
instructor is the appropriate way to gain more confidence. For solo
crosswind practice, you should at least be confident that you can a) react
quickly enough to changing wind conditions to keep the airplane in a
reasonable landing attitude, and b) identify when you are unable to land and
execute a go-around.

Keep in mind that one of the biggest challenges for most pilots is using
dramatic enough control inputs to react to strong gusts. For most of us,
most flying involves minor, gentle control inputs and we're not used to
forcing the airplane around. And indeed, on the other hand some pilots
create their own turbulence fighting the airplane. But you do need to be
prepared to use whatever control input it takes to keep the airplane on an
even keel, even if it means full deflection on one or more control surfaces.

You should not need to expect with absolute certainty that you'll be able to
actually make a successful landing; you just need to know how to abort and
find a more appropriate landing site if you can't. Though, I'd argue that
you'll get the most out of the landing practice if the conditions are
conducive to an actual landing.

Whether you're just starting out on your first serious crosswind practice,
or you're an old hand at crosswind landings, there's absolutely no shame in
going around as many times as it takes to get comfortable with the
conditions and your ability to keep the airplane on target for a landing
(keeping in mind, of course, your fuel status and alternate landing sites,
should you ultimately be unable to make a landing at that airport).

As far as your experience with your crosswind practice goes, I'd say that
even having had that instruction, 15G30 is pretty challenging conditions for
anyone, assuming that's mostly crosswind (you didn't say what direction the
wind was, and straight down the runway, that's not really as big a deal).
You may never be truly "comfortable" in those conditions, since you're
unlikely to experience them on a regular basis. Which is fine...the key is
knowing the proper techniques, and when to call "uncle".

With respect to your comment about carrying passengers, personally I would
try to avoid ever carrying passengers in conditions like that; it will be
really bumpy, and even if you are having no problem controlling the
airplane, most passengers would probably consider a landing in those
conditions to be a hair's breadth from an emergency situation.

I can't really comment much on the technique you wound up finding favorable,
since I'm not sure what you changed. Do you mean you simply selected a
different touchdown spot, and that resolved the issue for you? I don't
understand why that would be. Using a crab rather than a slip is, on the
other hand, a more common way to deal with strong crosswinds, especially
since the winds usually are much lower at the surface. If they are 15 knots
crosswind on the ground, they may be 25 or 30 knots just a few hundred feet
up. Of course, with nearly every airplane, you do need to straighten it out
eventually, before touchdown. But as you found, this is a perfectly
workable technique.

Anyway, bottom line: instructors are a great resource any time you find that
you seem to be able to get less than the maximum performance out of an
airplane. Praying may be soothing for some pilots, but I don't think it's
been shown to significantly reduce accident rates.

Pete