Crosswind Landing Visualizer
Crab, wing-low sideslip, heading, track, runway alignment and wind as a visual tool, not a certified simulator.
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Set the runway and the wind, choose a technique and press Play: the Cessna 172S flies the last mile to a touchdown 1,000 ft past the threshold. In a crab the nose points into the wind by the wind correction angle and the track stays on the centreline - but the nose is not aligned with the runway, so the crab must come out with rudder the instant before touchdown. In the wing-low method (a sideslip) rudder keeps the nose on the runway heading and the upwind wing is lowered just enough to stop the drift; the airplane then touches down on the upwind main wheel, aligned and without drift. The Airplane Flying Handbook recommends the wing-low method in most cases, and the C172S handbook says it "gives the best control".
The default flies the combination the Airplane Flying Handbook describes for a long final: crab first, then a smooth change to wing-low before the round out (set the height). Watch the middle picture: it is the same wind triangle in both techniques - the airplane's motion through the air plus the wind gives its motion along the runway. In the crab the nose points along the air motion; in the sideslip the nose points down the runway and the air meets the airplane from the side at the same angle. Choose No correction to see how far the airplane drifts in a mile, or Crab with Keep the crab to see a crabbed touchdown and the side load it puts on the tyres.
Scenario steps through a quartering wind, a direct crosswind at the demonstrated 15 kt, a crab held to touchdown, no correction, a gusty wind above the demonstrated value and a wind down the runway. Practice asks six questions - components, the crab heading, which wing and which rudder, the demonstrated crosswind - and checks your answers.
Assumption and limits - a visual tool, not a certified simulator. The geometry is exact (the wind triangle: the same numbers as the Crosswind / Headwind calculator and the Wind Triangle Solver); the airplane's response is not modelled: the bank and rudder needed for a sideslip depend on the airplane's side force and control power, which the POH does not tabulate, so the bank drawn from behind is SCHEMATIC ("just enough bank to cancel the drift", AFH). The approach is a schematic 3° path to a touchdown point 1,000 ft past the threshold without a round out, in a steady wind (gusts shown as components, not flown); the change from crab to wing-low takes 50 ft of height; the crab is removed exactly at touchdown when you choose to remove it; the aircraft symbol is not to scale. True airspeed from the C172S airspeed calibration of the flap setting (POH Figure 5-1) and the standard atmosphere at the field elevation. The 15-kt crosswind is what the POH demonstrated, not a limitation. For training - use the POH/AFM of the airplane you fly.
Wind components: headwind = wind × cos(angle), crosswind = wind × sin(angle) between the wind direction and the runway heading (the crosswind component chart, AFH FAA-H-8083-3C Figure 9-19, and the C172S POH Figure 5-4; the same calculation as the Crosswind / Headwind calculator, identical results checked). Crab: the heading that holds the runway track, wind correction angle = asin(crosswind / true airspeed), groundspeed along the runway (the Wind Triangle Solver's calculation, identical results checked). Sideslip: with the nose on the runway and the track on the centreline, the airplane's motion through the air makes the same angle with its nose. No correction: the given-heading wind triangle (drift angle, sideways speed = the crosswind component) over the last mile.
FAA Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3C (with its MOSAIC addendum of 20 October 2025, which adds no text to these pages) chapter 9 "Crosswind Approach and Landing", pp. 9-15 to 9-19: the crab and wing-low (sideslip) methods, "The wing-low method is recommended in most cases, although a combination of both methods may be used", the crab removed just prior to touchdown ("A change in alignment made too early or too late results in a side load"), the combination on a long final, the round out and touchdown on the upwind main wheel, the after-landing roll (aileron into the wind), cornering angle and side load ("As little as 10° of cornering angle creates a side load equal to half the supported weight; after 20°, the side load does not increase"), the certification crosswind of 0.2 VSO (9.6 kt for the C172S's 48 KCAS), the approach speed plus one-half of the gust factor (the AFH example: 70 kt with 15-kt gusts -> "77 knots"; half of 15 gives 77.5). Cessna 172S Information Manual (POH/AFM Rev. 5): Demonstrated Crosswind Velocity, "not considered to be limiting" (p. 1-10), 15 knots (p. 4-5, p. 4-33, Figure 5-4 - whose two notes say "velocity" and "component"), Crosswind Landing (p. 4-33: minimum flap setting for the field length, elevator oscillation in sideslips with more than 20° of flaps and full rudder, "the wing low method gives the best control"), normal approach speeds (p. 4-5), Figure 5-1 airspeed calibration. Private Pilot ACS FAA-S-ACS-6C PA.IV.B: crosswind correction throughout the approach and landing; touch down "with no side drift, and with the airplane's longitudinal axis aligned with and over the runway center/landing path".
- FAA Airplane Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-3C (2021, with its MOSAIC addendum of 20 October 2025, which adds no text to these pages), chapter 9 "Approaches and Landings", "Crosswind Approach and Landing" pp. 9-15 to 9-19 (crab and wing-low methods and their combination, Figures 9-15 to 9-17; round out, touchdown and after-landing roll; cornering angle and side load; maximum safe crosswind velocities and the 0.2 VSO certification crosswind; the crosswind component chart, Figure 9-19), "Intentional Slips" pp. 9-12, 9-13, "Turbulent Air Approach and Landing" p. 9-19 (one-half the gust factor)
- Cessna Model 172S Information Manual 172SIM incorporating the Pilot’s Operating Handbook and FAA Approved Airplane Flight Manual, Revision 5 (19 July 2004), P/N 172SPHUS05, serials 172S8001 and on - Demonstrated Crosswind Velocity (p. 1-10), Airspeeds for Normal Operation (p. 4-5), Normal Landing and Crosswind Landing (pp. 4-32, 4-33), Figure 5-4 Crosswind Components (p. 5-13), Figure 5-1 Airspeed Calibration with flaps up, 10° and 30° (p. 5-9), Figure 5-3 VSO (p. 5-12) - aircraft data, Model 172S only
- Private Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards FAA-S-ACS-6C (November 2023) PA.IV.B Normal Approach and Landing (wind correction techniques; crosswind correction throughout; touchdown with no side drift and the longitudinal axis aligned with the runway centre)
- Cross-tool: the wind components are the Crosswind / Headwind calculator's and the crab angle, heading and groundspeed the Wind Triangle Solver's for the same numbers (identical results checked); the true airspeed is the Airspeed calculator's conversion from calibrated airspeed
- Model choices of this tool (stated on the page): a visual tool, not a certified simulator; schematic 3° path to a touchdown point 1,000 ft past the threshold, no round out; steady wind; the change from crab to wing-low over 50 ft of height; the bank drawn schematically (not computed); the practice questions and their tolerances (components ±1.5 kt, heading ±2°)