Remove Crosswind Remove Rudder Remove Turbulence
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The 10 cheapest planes you can buy in 2025

Aerotime

The Ercoupe’s unique design, lacking rudder pedals, offers a distinctive flying experience. Pilots find it easy to fly, especially in crosswinds, though some mention its tendency to wallow in turbulent air due to its wing design. In 2025, it’s one of the few cheap airplanes that routinely lists under $20,000.

Rudder 236
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The Complete Home Flight Simulator Setup Guide (2025)

Pilot Institute

Many sim pilots also purchase dedicated peripherals to control the rudder and engines. Some devices also offer a basic level of rudder and throttle control. The twist grip allows control of the aircraft’s rudder by rotating the joystick handle. A joystick is the most straightforward flight controller.

Rudder 96
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Managing the wind

Air Facts

Subjective factors such as terrain, turbulence, and gust direction are as important as the numbers. Those little hills made for fiendish turbulence down low. Several times I’ve landed smoothly in a strong crosswind, then had trouble keeping the airplane on the runway. I approach using the wing low method in a crosswind.

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Flight Review: Van’s RV-12 LSA—Singular Success

Plane and Pilot

Like most homebuilts and many SLSAs, the RV-12 steers on the ground via differential braking, but the good-sized rudder does contribute if you have a bit of wind. The rudder hardly calls attention to itself outside of having plenty of authority. A nuance, perhaps. Right until liftoff, takeoffs are fairly uneventful.

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Approachable Excellence

Plane and Pilot

You can see other Weick influences, such as the oil-damped tricycle landing gearall produced Cherokees are trikeswith a wide track to make crosswind landings more manageable. Depressions in the vertical stabilizer and rudder, as well as stabilator skins and ailerons, all help increase panel stiffness while allowing less under-skin structure.

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A Nice PARE

Photographic Logbook

Nevertheless, I was anxious about managing a 15 knot gusty crosswind for my first taildragger stick time in seven years. As with any taildragger, each rudder input required positive cancelation with opposite rudder to prevent the tail's momentum from yawing the airplane more than intended. He was right. Chop and drop!"

Rudder 60
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Aviation Winds Types Explained: A Pilot’s In-Depth Guide

Air

Crosswind: The Sideways Challenge A crosswind blows across your intended flight path , being most critical during the takeoff and landing phases. Pilots must use specific techniques, applying rudder and aileron inputs, to maintain directional control and keep the aircraft aligned. And it’s unique in Europe!