Forum: F-16 Procedures

We have 25 knot cross winds today and I was wondering just how much that effects the Viper landing?
I've landed riding in heaves before it was was very dicey to say the least. Question

F-16.net Sponsor

I was talking to one of our pilots on a similar day and he said that they land crabbed into the wind all the way through the touchdown and roll out. A normal (not so badass) plane dips the upwind wing and counters with the rudder to keep the plane on the centerline, landing on one wheel but straight down the runway. The pilot said the Viper cant do this because it loses too much lift with its small wings and they run the risk of hitting the missile on stations 1 or 9. So they just land crabbed and stay that way throughout the roll out and "wobble" down the runway until the nose wheel comes down.

Is there a limit, or can the F-16 land in any cross wind weather? Ive seen some pretty wild landing from big Boeing jets in places like Peru and others places, but I wonder how much can the 16 gear struts take?

Our -1 for the block 10 and 15 MLU states that the maximum cross wind for landing is 25 knots on a dry runway. It feels weird to land in a crab the first time but you get used to it. Once you touch down you maintain the centerline with the rudder. With 25 knots of cross wind the flightpath marker is outside the hud field of view and we therefore use the drift cut out switch.

That explains a lot of diverts Ive seen in the past.

Thanks

Salute!

Unless lots has changed, Viper best landed in a crab versus wing-low. Mainly due to the aileron-rudder interconnect.

So two short war stories:

1) Landed at Nellis one day with max crosswind per the flight manual, and I think the tower dudes were fudging a bit to get us down.

Flight path marker was off to one side with the big "x" thru it.

Landed in crab and rolled out just fine

2) When they put the "big tail" on our Bk 10's, we IP's went up in family models to get a feel for the new tail.

So the other IP and I decided to try a "wing-low" slip to landing. I mean, what the hell!

Trust me, not smart, or recommended.

Mains touch and aileron-rudder-interconnect cuts out and WHAHOOOO!

We kept the thing from skidding off the runway or rolling, then regained control.

that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

out,

Gums
Do you think the B or D model is harder to land in those condition?

The unit I came from lost two D's both were attributed to pilot error but a contributing factor on one was the flight characteristics (C vs. D), were not taken into account by the pilot.
Unfortunately he never made it out to talk about it later.

Forum Veteran Joined: Jul 01, 2007 - 07:22 PM Posts: 620

Crab to the flare and if desired you can kick the rudder to straighten the nose out. Its not required but it saves some wear on the tires and makes for a much smoother landing. I've landed both the T-38 and the Viper in 30 knots of crosswind (tower was calling 24 knots each time) before and they take it fine. Its a bit disconcerting though when the runway is over the canopy rail on the approach. Wink

I've heard the tires can sometime only take one heavy crosswind landing and then they have to be changed...?

Forum Veteran Joined: Jul 01, 2007 - 07:22 PM Posts: 620

Depends on how bad we damage the tires.

SnakeHandler
Is crabbing the same as side slip. I used to side slip my dad's J-3 Cub sometimes when landing with a cross wind, or if I just wanted to bleed off altitude without gaining airspeed.

Forum Veteran Joined: Jul 01, 2007 - 07:22 PM Posts: 620

Crabbing is the opposite of sideslip. Crabbing is when you take your feet off the rudders and let the plane weathervane into the wind. There are some valid uses for sideslip in the Viper but landing isn't one of them. The "flare kick" as I call it seems to me to be the best technique. I hate bouncing down the runway. Cheers

That reminds me of what they used to say about my father and his three bounce landings... LMAO

Mom always said he was safer in the air anyway.

Forum Veteran Joined: Jul 01, 2007 - 07:22 PM Posts: 620

Ha!!!

Snake or Gums--have either of you ever flown a taildragger? Or more specifically, landed one? You land one of those puppies in a crab and next thing you know you're going down the runway backwards. The best thing I ever did to improve my landings was to learn to fly a taildragger.

There ain't nothin' like a good ole one-wheel-at-a-time wheel landing (mains first, tail in the air) in a nice crosswind to get your directional juices flowing! Of course if you did that in a Viper, you'd probably get a P or R light, screw up your CSFDR recording, and all kinds of various and sundry malfunctions. That's in addition to the ARI disconnect y'all mentioned.

Forum: F-16 Procedures

Cross wind landing