Crosswind Landings in a J3, The Good, the Bad & The ugly.

[@flyguy437]

One of the best video demonstrations. Just enough. Not too much.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Joe, Great cautionary comment about taking off with power applied too rapidly and then tail up quickly. Eg. Right gusty X-wind: Slipstream - left turning P-factor - left turning Torque - more friction from left tire - left turning Adverse Yaw from stick into wind - left turning Tail up quickly -> gyro precession - more left turning & then you're barely airborn & drifting over over left field and low airspeed. All of that can overwhelm weather-vaning & rudder authority to the right. So, it's not always the left x-wind that will burn ya.

[@christopherbordenave6955]

Best quote, “I am a flight instructor, but I’m not YOUR flight instructor!” 😂

[@Bananasssssssss]

Hahah gotta hand off the Liability 😂😂

[@commentatron]

That's a common refrain from doctors, lawyers and wives. :D

[@brettphillips8650]

A properly done crosswind landing is such a rush when you nail it! As you said, it’s a handful, but with practice it can become great fun. Fabulous video Joe. Great points about wind correction on the ground.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks!

[@sodakaiser]

Great video dude… Love the emphasis on importance of controls during taxiiing. I had some left crosswind this week (Citabria) and making my right turn onto taxiway got me light on the left main even with full throw on the stick. Saved by my CFIs yoda like ghost voice in my head… “In a taildragger, if the motor is running, you’re flying”

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks Alex!, really appreciate the feedback

[@joannedeweycollins9335]

That was informative! I have about 20 hours of cub time but currently fly a Porterfield that I share with my dad. Same stuff applies! Thank you for your time!!

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thank you!, appreciate that

[@scout97e]

That cap you’re wearing is a rare one indeed! We didn’t make very many of those! Great content too!

[@benoneal8326]

Enjoyed the last minute. My airline buddy told me that 95% of the pilots he flies with at the airline would have both the planes I fly balled up before lunch. J3 and Lake Amphib. Great video, a J3 will humble you real quick in a gusty crosswind.

[@Bananasssssssss]

I need to fly an amphib. I’m told it’s the best flying there is

[@jonathanmedding1543]

I joined a club with 2 J3‘s after getting my PPL. The club had an instructor who ver patiently helped me transition to tail draggers. What surprised me was that more than half of the 20 or so members are active or retired airline pilots. Many of them have told me the J3 is their absolute favorite plane to fly.

[@flyguy437]

Airline flying has nothing to do with tailwheel flying. Pro pilots are pros on their equipment. Apples to oranges.

[@jhettish]

You'll get tired of me praising your channel but the videos from the cockpit are just what I've experienced in a Cub time and time again. I got lucky when my final tail wheel CFI session took place. The wind was gusty and coming from both sides of the grass runway. My first solo flight after my signoff was very nice until I got about 200 feet in the air then it was coming from both sides again. I flew for about 15 minutes wondering what I was going to do, made a low pass, went back through the pattern then decided I was going to land. I think your stick was going back and forth in your first video in this episode and the stick was going left, right, forward and back. It reminded me of sitting in the back seat in a gusty day while my CFI flew from the front seat. My stick was banging off my thighs and I learned the need to really get rough on a rough day. My first solo landing was almost the same way only it was me flying the Cub and no CFI in the front seat. I also like to watch the throttle in your videos. My engine is a 85 hp and maybe a bit more responsive than your 65hp but modulating the throttle is always (almost always) necessary. I'm jealous that you seem to be able to the carb heat a little easier than I do. I only have one video posted of a landing after a 40 minute flight (6 minutes) on a relativly calm day at the gliderport where I keep the Cub.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks for that! appreciate it!

[@dennispitz7488]

Excellent presentation. I'll be looking at this again when I'm doing my tail wheel training.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks Dennis!

[@jhettish1945]

Very good Joe. Thanks. My certifying instructor actually suggested (very fast) that I go ahead and keep the plane on the ground but I, flying from the back seat, went around. Later in the flight he said I made a good choice. I fly a J3C-65.

[@flyingfahans]

Just happened to see this video - very nice job, Joe. Always helpful to hear everyone's take on what works for them!

[@johanngm6846]

well explained Joe, you are an excellent instructor. Great views.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks!

[@davidrhoads3023]

Awesome (an' beautiful) videos! My favorite part was how y'could see the stall indicator/lower door displaying Exactly what the plane's angle of attack/extent of stall was when the thing was in the flare on the three-pointers.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks Dave!

[@jocatgo123]

I encountered a gusty crosswind two days ago. My hands were full in my Pietenpol Air Camper. Same weight as a Cub but different ailerons and tail. I did a go around. Then landed...drifted and wing lifted. I was able to stay on runway. No ground loop but I did drag a wing. The solution would have been a grass runway but none nearby.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Amazing how much easier it is on grass

[@Coops777]

That was awesome thankyou Joe! Love your work!!

[@Bananasssssssss]

Appreciate it!!

[@Coops777]

@Joe Costanza I bought a Legend AL3 (J3 clone) and, while its a bit heavier with O200 engine with starter motor, it does everything pretty much the same as your J3. Ive been doing likewise and going out in wind thats a little bit worse each time. Today was a gusty 90 degree about 11 knots. I resorted to advice from my instructor - A big forward slip on final to drop height quickly and cut through turbulence and round out to a one wheel 3 pointer. Was still very untidy after all of that. But I didnt crash or ground loop lol

[@Bananasssssssss]

@@Coops777 nicee! Love the Legends. Would love to get an Amphib one, one day. Safe flying!

[@schaeferdamien2185]

Thanks great video, incredible picture and good CFI advise 👍👌

[@johnkluenker]

Great video, Joe! I have been meaning to make a similar discussion video myself about tailwheel flying, but I have not gotten around to it yet. You may have inspired me. I love your stuff! Keep it up! You make me really miss my J-3 Cub!

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks! Appreciate that!

[@robertrollins6023]

You had me at the go around landing, fly in the landing zone 💪🏼

[@pdbrown170b]

More great video. Thanks. It might be helpful someday to get the camera positioned so that the control stick positions, aileron into the wind to get the wing to stop the drift, while holding opposite rudder as required to keep the nose pointed down the runway centerline. It should also be possible to show the amount of correction changing as the speed decays, requiring progressively more correction as the speed decays while landing and vice versa on takeoff as speed increases during the take off roll. It’s a dynamic environment! I have often thought a video showing proper aileron and elevator positions required while taxing and turning while on the ground in wind might be woryhwhile. It’s very helpful in my 170 to use full aileron deflection when taxying slowly turning into and away from the wind on the ground.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks! I am going to put the Camera closer to rudder and try an get a better view of all flight controls for this type of video

[@shaneglassey8622]

Awesome video.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thank you!

[@jimmydulin928]

Very good lesson and great video. I appreciate the camera looking from pilot's eye forward and also the camera looking at the vertical stabilizer and rudder. It is hard to convince nose gear students and pilots in general that the centerline is best kept, and wandering off prevented rather than corrected, by dynamic proactive rudder movement. Like any control, students are afraid they are going to move it too much. Move it. How else are you going to know what it does? And with dynamic movement, gross or fine makes professional show difference but not staying ahead of the airplane difference so much. So they don't have to worry about moving to much if dynamic. Most likely they will not move enough. Glide angle and rate of descent, in gusts or shears, is controlled with dynamic throttle. The problem with the old trainers using 65 hp Continentals was the Stromberg carburetor. It will gulp if moved too fast, but it won't kill the engine. Just a little scary. Your runway is narrow. On grass or wide runways, I used the power/pitch deceleration on short final approach default. Then, in strong crosswind, I angled across from the downwind corner to the big airplane touchdown zone marking. I actually got going backward just before touchdown a bit in a Champ once. Lucky that one was a wheel landing. I understand the loss of rudder relative wind problem in a wheel landing, but I made wheel landing default in crosswind and I always used the power/pitch deceleration which eliminates the round out and allows power and prop blast relative wind to be carried all the way to touchdown. I understand Airmen Certification Standards and flight test prep, but the power/pitch apparent brisk walk deceleration like is made in autos coming into and intersection is so much easier to teach and to fly than the round out and hold off technique and modern carburetors don't gulp. So I recommend teaching that first so as to be able to solo in less than ten hours like we used to. How would that slow up a PPL program?

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks!

[@jonathanmedding1543]

I‘m a low time cub pilot and I find your videos both entertaining and informative. What do you think about putting something on the front stick (tennis ball, small orange sock) to make it easier to see? It’s a weird request and no problem if you don’t feel like it, it it would be cool to have better visibility into the stick movement, especially at and just after touchdown.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Thanks! I had some white tape on front stick for that reason. Will do it again!

[@mikebellamy]

Thanks.. I need exactly that advice with my Aero SupaPup..

[@carlylea]

I have an early Model 2 Kitfox, empty weight is 526 pounds. Although I don't have exact wind readings at my strip, I've found my max crosswind to be 12KT in the little kitfox. 12KT requires me to hit the rudder stop, and even apply slight amounts of brake on the wind side to stay straight. In my opinion, I've hit the crosswind limit of the plane at that time, and I'm on borrowed time when landing with crosswinds that high - Simply don't get in that situation. Other things I might bring up, perhaps to chat about it... If able, when landing on a wide runway, you can come in on a slight angle to the runway which can decrease the crosswind component and get you out of a pinch if you are in that situation. The other thing that I've learned over the years, is even a light quartering tailwind in a taildragger is by far the most challenging landing. I've landed my kitfox with a 5-6 KT quartering tailwind, and that was by far my hardest landing as we lose so much rudder authority in the ladder part of the roll out. Anyways, great video, I'll be sharing this one Joe. Thanks.

[@Bananasssssssss]

All really really good points, especially the one about coming in on an angle.

[@roybartran6756]

good job the dreaded boogie man in a taildragger....

[@dr.mariotorres-leon8869]

Great video. Thanks Great model of the Cub. Where could I get a similar one? Thanks in advance! Warm regards!

[@elmoreglidingclub3030]

Good stuff! I went out today and did some x-wind work in my J3. 6-8 MPH and a lot of satisfying fun. By the way, where’d you get the model?? I want one for my desk. Thanks!

[@Blaircraft.Engines]

Don’t want to do again… I’ve landed J3 A65 90 degrees w/22kt peak @28kts Just fly it on the ground too!

[@Bananasssssssss]

Sounds awful 😂.

[@georgewashington9058]

Low time tailwheel pilot here, is it normal to land still in a crab in a tailwheel as what appears in your videol? It’s unusual for me being a retract pilot.

[@Bananasssssssss]

Never want to land in a Crab. You want to land with the banked wing into the Wing but never in a crab

[@chrisdeuel5773]

Thanks.😉

[@Bananasssssssss]

You're welcome 😊

[@jhettish]

Cub landing, about 6 minutes, camera not all that good. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2K9aKqkfqaYgbM

[@thomasabramson100]

Great lesson thanks Joe

[@Bananasssssssss]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching!