On Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 10:19:07 PM UTC+3, CindyB wrote:
On Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 1:04:02 PM UTC-8, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Do you crab or forward slip landing in x-winds and why?

Like Mr. Kellett (yeeaay buddy), I teach both, and teach selection of technique based on machine and landing surface. What "works" in the component for one ship might not be best for another. I teach - the pilot must choose what tool they use, and you better be able to describe and use either.

What I don't see discussed here, and would be valuable for newer pilots and many more-senior CFIs would be the ability to teach the students about using their best ballbearing at C-4 vertebrae, and be able to LOOK ( peek intermittently) at their wingtips to see if they are level, or low to the wind, or HOW close to earth the tip is.

You can do this any time by "windjamming", flying ailerons of the glider on the ground in a good breeze. Making them place the wingtip at your palm, while you do deep knee bends at the wingtip or show them loss of aileron control when that tip makes 1 degree too-high in the cross component. When they understand the concept of "what would you do walking around today wearing a sombrero and wanting to keep the hat on your head" you are ready to have them use a wind-tip-low technique on takeoff and landings.

Really. You or they can keep the glider on centerline and look at a tip. It's just a peek. Getting the pilot to de-link the hands and the chin is a valuable skill. Looking around more is also a valuable practice. When they do it a bit, their confidence grows.

And worse case? I have slalomed the tips over alternating obstacles on outlanding. But that wasn't a huge crosswind event, thankfully. You could simulate something like that on a calm day with tethered helium balloons.....
for those who need an event to increase skills. Just think about runway lights and repair bills for a fair motivation.

I remember when I started, instructors telling me my wings weren't level, and I couldn't tell if they were or not in flight without looking at both tips. (I recall Lucy Wills commenting on this too in the video of her lessons)

After a while you don't need to look at the wingtips any more.

I agree that keeping the wings level in a wind on the ground, and gently finding the limits, is an excellent exercise. And again, after you've done that for a while you don't *need* to actually look.

Incidentally, in instructing, I don't think I've ever told a student that their wings aren't level. I ask them if they can tell that they're slowly turning to the left (or right).