ONE CHALLENGE INSTRUCTORS OFTEN face is teaching pilots to align the airplane with the runway when landing. I've seen this issue at all levels from beginning student to CFI candidate.Many of the more experienced instructors reading this know what I'm discussing-when our clients land a tricycle gear airplane that is slightly crooked to the runway, we'll feel the airplane give a little jerk as the airplane aligns itself. This is because the center of gravity is ahead of the main gear and pulls the airplane into alignment with the direction of travel. This was so novel in the 1950s, when tail-wheel aircraft were much more common, that Cessna marketed tricycle gear as "Land-O-Matic." Of course, the issue for a tailwheel airplane can be much more dramatic, as the center of gravity is behind the main gear. Landing in a crab can cause the airplane's center of gravity to pivot around the main gear in what is known as a ground loop. In either tricycle gear or tailwheel aircraft, landing in a crab puts unnecessary stress on the landing gear and the tires, along with compromising directional control.
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