Hello ,
I fly on a 737 approximately 10 times per year. sometimes coming up Long Island Sound the wind howls making it
so rough coming into PVD. What I would like to know is the 737 when rocking back and forth shaking vigorously
and everyone holding on for dear life , is at any time the pilot nervous of possible loss of controls ? I mean at times
when we touched down the wing tips were so close to touching the runway.........and you can tell that we were
on just one side of the landing gear, kind of sideways....

Thanks
Jerry

Hey Jerry, Welcome to Flight Level 350

Its safe to say us pilots get quite immune to the shake, rattle and roll we experience up there. Sometimes some very rough stuff!!!!

So with experience, you dont get nervous or as nervous and become numb to it, as I've been told throughout my training (turbulence isn't dangerous) however I sometimes would like to say differently!!!

Aircraft and pilots are given certain speeds to fly VA (design maneuvering speeds) for fliyng through the rough stuff for stress issues/load factors, and we aim to land as much into the wind as possible so if other runways are available they might give that a go.

It's almost good to mention, a good pilot will want to land on on the main wheel most upwind to the cross wind, so if your landing straight ahead, and you have a wind out of the left pushing you to the right, it's good to touch down slightly on the left wheel first with that wing slightly lower to stop that drift!

we call this a side slip

Have a good weekend

B

No, the crew is not worried about losing control of the airplane. If that was a concern I can assure you that they would not attempt an approach and landing. Remember, good pilots are born cowards. Plus we have no desire to make our spouses very wealthy with insurance money.

As far as the sideways landings are concerned, it may look that way from the passenger cabin. But it doesn't necessarily mean that the airplane is flying literally sideways. Most large airplanes aren't supposed to be landed in a crab. It puts too much sideload on the landing gear. Every effort is made to make sure that the landing is done straight down the runway and on centerline. It's a matter of professional pride. Plus, I don't want to be buying all of the beer at the end of the trip.

You should try it in a skyhawk some day!

Just like submarines are built for deep-sea diving and cars are built for long distance driving, planes are built for bumpy flying.