A respected Merced, California, entrepreneur, Greg Opinski served as the head of Greg Opinski Construction, Inc., and completed more than 350 total projects. Having started piloting as a way of reaching projects quickly, Greg Opinski enjoys flying in his free time.
One of the most challenging aspects of piloting a light aircraft is landing when crosswinds are a factor. One strategy for doing so is the crab method, which involves turning the airplane into the wind at an appropriate degree.
This allows the plane to maintain centerline as it approaches the runway. Just before touching down, the pilot can step on the rudder, which brings the nose into alignment with the runway as aileron flight-control surfaces on the wings are activated to avoid drifting. While 737 pilots commonly rely on the crab method, the main issue for pilots of smaller aircraft is that failure to time this maneuver precisely can result in the nose bouncing and jumping on the runway.
A less variable crosswind landing strategy is the wing-low method, which involves positioning the aircraft by positioning ailerons in one direction and the rudder in the opposite direction. This cross-controlling technique helps ensure that the nose is stably aligned with the runway during landing and not drifting.
