Flight Training - March 2019 - 37

Proper crosswind taxi technique helps to stop the
wind from flipping the aircraft over during surface
movement.
While taxiing, challenge yourself to use full crosswind taxi technique at all times-even when winds are
light. Why? First, it will force you to learn crosswind
taxi technique, which means you won't have to reach
deep into a fading memory to protect yourself when you
suddenly find yourself in strong winds. Second, it will
make you more comfortable using full aileron deflection
while the airplane is moving. Most pilots lose accuracy
during crosswind landings when a wheel touches and
they unconsciously relax aileron deflection because it
feels strange. This is improper procedure and can be
dangerous. Teach yourself while taxiing that full aileron
deflection is not strange, and is sometimes necessary.
The third reason is that crosswind taxi technique
forces your brain to disconnect the operation of your
hands from the operation of your feet. Feet have a job to
do. They actively keep the airplane pointing down the
taxiway or runway. Hands have a different job: maintaining a stable bank angle for landing. If your brain
subconsciously always links hand movement with feet
movement, they interfere with each other.
As an instructor, I watch the control yoke while
a student is taxiing. If every time the pilot uses right
rudder pressure to steer the nose right and his or her
hands unconsciously steer the yoke right, I know we are
going to have a problem on landing. The controls need
to be split.
Feet should be active keeping the airplane parallel;
hands should be calm and maintaining a stable bank
angle. It's the pilot equivalent of patting your head and
rubbing your stomach. Crosswind taxi technique forces
your brain to let your feet and hands learn to do different things at the same time.
FIX IT NOW

The last thing that taxiing can teach you about landing
is the value of assertiveness. If you make a correction as
soon as it is needed, the change you make can be small.
If you hesitate to make the necessary correction, you'll
need to make a much bigger correction. You can see
that while taxiing. Small, prompt corrections keep you
on the centerline. Delayed corrections require bigger
movements and result in a zigzag that destabilizes
everything.
The same is true for landing. On final approach, if
the airplane needs to slide left or right a bit, fix it now.
Making a tiny change in bank as soon as you notice it
will save you from having to make a giant bank change
at the last minute, destabilizing your approach. If something yaws the nose left or right of parallel, fix it now.
The sooner you notice and make a small correction, the
more stable and safe your landing will be. FT
CFI DAN DYER lectures, develops flight training materials,
and runs San Carlos Flight Center in the San Francisco Bay
Area. dan@sancarlosflight.com.

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Flight Training - March 2019

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