tawood
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So over the summer, I upgraded planes, selling my Cherokee PA28-140 that I've owned for 5 years/about 700 hours, and buying an Arrow PA28R-200. One of the things I've found I love about the Arrow, is that once the gear go down, it feels/handles/seems to fly identical to the Cherokee...but, I've found an exception: crosswind landings.
I use my planes exclusively for personal travel. My girlfriend and I flew that little Cherokee all over the country for the past 5 years, VFR and IFR, in all sorts of weather. I've pushed the envelope a few times when it comes to weather: I've picked up a little ice here and there, dodged my share of thunderstorms, had to go missed more that a few times while trying to land IFR, and being that my home field only has one runway I've definitely experienced my share of extreme crosswind landings. My personal best in the Cherokee (or worst, depending on how you look at go/no-go decision making) was landing with a directly 90 degree 24 knots gusts to 35. Other than the disconcerting stall light repeatedly going off on approach, the landing that day really was not a big deal as that little Cherokee seemed to slip into the wind so easily it made me feel like it could handle almost anything.
Now I'm finding that the Arrow, although it feels capable, can't handle anywhere near the same crosswind as the Cherokee. With as little as a 12 knot direct crosswind, I'm hitting the stops with the rudder. To make matters worse, I've found I usually run out of elevator as well, causing the nose to come down a tad hard or sooner than I'd like. So, when I'm applying aileron / full rudder / full elevator for that crosswind, I've found things get really hairy when that nose wheel touches down! With the Cherokee, I never noticed any issue/problem with the nose wheel, but with the Arrow, I've almost lost control when that nose wheel hits on crosswind landings. Fortunately, its occurred during the slowest part of my touchdown, so I've managed (just barely) to keep it on the runway. With no crosswind, I do notice the elevator hitting the stops, but the nose wheel seems to touch down without too much problem.
Perhaps my problem is that it feels so much like the Cherokee once the gear are down, I'm treating it like the Cherokee. Anyone have any "Arrow specific" advice on how to handle a crosswind? Just as an FYI, my usual crosswind technique is to crab all the way until its time to flare, then when flaring I step on the down-wind rudder to straighten the plane with the runway while simultaneously using aileron to keep the plane centered over the runway, as I flare/touchdown. Once the winds get extreme (>15 knot crosswind component), I stop using flaps. Would I be better to set up the slip earlier?
I use my planes exclusively for personal travel. My girlfriend and I flew that little Cherokee all over the country for the past 5 years, VFR and IFR, in all sorts of weather. I've pushed the envelope a few times when it comes to weather: I've picked up a little ice here and there, dodged my share of thunderstorms, had to go missed more that a few times while trying to land IFR, and being that my home field only has one runway I've definitely experienced my share of extreme crosswind landings. My personal best in the Cherokee (or worst, depending on how you look at go/no-go decision making) was landing with a directly 90 degree 24 knots gusts to 35. Other than the disconcerting stall light repeatedly going off on approach, the landing that day really was not a big deal as that little Cherokee seemed to slip into the wind so easily it made me feel like it could handle almost anything.
Now I'm finding that the Arrow, although it feels capable, can't handle anywhere near the same crosswind as the Cherokee. With as little as a 12 knot direct crosswind, I'm hitting the stops with the rudder. To make matters worse, I've found I usually run out of elevator as well, causing the nose to come down a tad hard or sooner than I'd like. So, when I'm applying aileron / full rudder / full elevator for that crosswind, I've found things get really hairy when that nose wheel touches down! With the Cherokee, I never noticed any issue/problem with the nose wheel, but with the Arrow, I've almost lost control when that nose wheel hits on crosswind landings. Fortunately, its occurred during the slowest part of my touchdown, so I've managed (just barely) to keep it on the runway. With no crosswind, I do notice the elevator hitting the stops, but the nose wheel seems to touch down without too much problem.
Perhaps my problem is that it feels so much like the Cherokee once the gear are down, I'm treating it like the Cherokee. Anyone have any "Arrow specific" advice on how to handle a crosswind? Just as an FYI, my usual crosswind technique is to crab all the way until its time to flare, then when flaring I step on the down-wind rudder to straighten the plane with the runway while simultaneously using aileron to keep the plane centered over the runway, as I flare/touchdown. Once the winds get extreme (>15 knot crosswind component), I stop using flaps. Would I be better to set up the slip earlier?
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