TALESPINNERS - May, 2003

Steer Toward the Crash
by Scott Hersha

Who among you has ever heard this from a flight instructor?  This is a command we used to hear during training on the DC-3 and Beech-18 tail draggers while taking off or landing in a strong crosswind, and it wasn't what you wanted to hear.  What it refers to is the practice of using differential aileron drag to offset the weathervane tendency of any airplane, but tail draggers in particular, during crosswind takeoffs and landings.

By rolling the yoke (steering toward the crash) toward the side of the runway that the nose wants to point in a crosswind (into the wind), the aileron on the downwind wing will be down and the upwind aileron will be up.  The down aileron which is increasing lift on it's wing is also creating more drag than the up aileron on the other wing which is deflecting a little less and reducing lift.  The differential drag on the outboard ends of the wings tends to pull the downwind wing backward, thereby bringing the nose back to center (or keeping it there if you had rolled in full aileron in the first place).  This is most noticeable on takeoff, because on landing you also have brakes to keep you going straight.

The Twin Beech needs all the help it can get to try and maintain direction, while the DC-3 is much more controllable, kind of like a big twin-engined J-3.  It was possible in the DC-3 to takeoff in a fairly good crosswind with your feet flat on the floor (not recommended, but a useful demonstration for new pilots).  As soon as the nose started to head for the sidelines, just "steer toward the crash" and the nose would come right to center like it's supposed to.

It even works on a Cessna 170 while taxiing.  Just get the plane moving on a taxiway generally into the wind, pull the power to idle and roll the aileron fully in one direction.  The nose of the plane will gradually head the opposite direction.  Kind of backward if you're more used to driving than flying, but it's good pilot technique for any tail dragger pilot.

Copyright © 2003 by Scott Hersha.  All rights reserved.