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KFOR news video of this RJ making a rather sporty crosswind landing has been making the rounds on Facebook the last day or two.
KFOR news video of this RJ making a rather sporty crosswind landing has been making the rounds on Facebook the last day or two.
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These pilots do an amazing job.
The tires do an amazing job (think about it).
The runway looks rougher than the front straight at Budd’s Creek (MX track).
I would have a hard time buying a ticket for a flight on “Wizz Air”.
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Ah, BHX, a/k/a Birmingham International (UK). Crosswind into the double-humped runway. They should get a license fee for all of the crosswind vids on YouTube.
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I find it amazing that the pilots pretty much jam the plane down while still crabbing into the wind. Maybe the short runway makes it imperative to get the wheels down and thrust reverse on ASAP.
In my civilian career I had to travel fair amount and I recall one landing at Newark in a severe crosswind. It was a 757, I was in a window seat at the back of the aircraft and could see where we were headed due to the severe crab. As he flared, the pilot rolled into the wind, put some opposite rudder to straighten out, and set down on one main gear first. He rolled a few seconds before setting the other main on the runway. It was incredibly smooth. Having been a pilot in my Navy career, I was very impressed.
But, this was back in the late 1990’s when a majority of airline pilots were ex-military. In my view, that makes a difference.
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Well, carrier aviators have the benefit that the ship steams into the wind.
From what I understand, BHX has a bad rep regarding crosswinds. And plunking the plane down firmly is hard on the tires, but not nearly as hard as floating along and having to go around.
If you’re gonna land, LAND with authority.
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Re: Carriers steam into the wind
True, but airfields don’t! 🙂 We would use “wing-down, top rudder” in a crosswind, but no flare at landing, just fly it into the deck.
Sometimes there is a bit of a crosswind in a shipboard landing if the ship needs to stay clear of territorial airspace in crowded seas, such as the Mediterranean. And, one time I landed in a severe crosswind, when thunderstorms were in the area. Instrument approach in the late afternoon, ship went through a wind shift line, winds went from down the deck to a strong crosswind when I was a few miles out. I got aboard that time. A similar thing happened in the middle of the night several months later but I and a few others were sent to a bingo field.
I’m sorry, I’ll stop now. I am an ex-aviator and addicted to telling stories…. There I was, at 20,000 feet….
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I don’t think I’ve ever been on a plane that had to make a second approach due to crosswinds. Maybe crosswinds aren’t such a big problem at IAD and LAX, where I usually go.
Why did they put the gear up when they aborted the first approach? Aren’t they coming right back around for another try?
“I find it amazing that the pilots pretty much jam the plane down while still crabbing into the wind.”
Yeah, I was impressed too. Also by the way that even though the fuselage was not pointed “straight down the runway” at touchdown they managed to get it straightened out after all the wheels were down.
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A go-around at a busy airport might mean 20 or 40 miles or more of flight. They can’t just execute a quick trip in the pattern. Rather, they have to fly the missed approach, and then the ATC has to slot them in with the other arrivals, and they have to fly the entire approach again.
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XBradTC 
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