When I input rudder in-flight, the aircraft rolls to the side of the rudder input: if i put in right rudder, it will roll to the right.
Is this normal behaviour or am i doing something wrong? It tends to be an issue when i take off with crosswinds. As i rotate, the aircraft will bank as soon as i lift off. Hope someone can help, thanks.
Yep, absolutely correct behaviour - itâs called âfurther effect of controlsâ.
To try and put it simply, if you remember that lift is generated by the speed of the airflow over the wing, when the aircraft is flying straight the lift is equal on both wings. However introduce some rudder and the aircraft is niow flying slightly sideways and as a consequence the airflow over one wing is higher than the other, creating more lift for that wing thus creating a banking situation.
Itâs an exercise as part of flight training for the basic PPL.
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Thanks for the quick reply, thats what i suspected. Knowing that, what would be the correct technique to counteract it and keep the wings level?
What youâre asking for is called âside-slippingâ or âcrabbing,â a technique pilots use during crosswind landings, or when they need to scrub off speed on an approach.
You normally want to make coordinated turns using ailerons to bank in the desired direction of the turn, then rudder and elevator can be used in the same direction to prevent loss of lift and maintain altitude.
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Except this is during takeoffs, not crabbing into the wind on approach.
The issue is when using the rudder to keep the plane on centreline during takeoff. Once you rotate the wing dips as you have the rudder input in.
To counteract, would it be the same as a side slip / crab on approach?
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The maneuver of going rudder to one direction and ailerons to the opposite direction is used on small aircraft and gliders to quickly lose altitude without gaining speed. In that case itâs called forward slip instead of side slip:
Just be careful because on airliners a forward slip is almost never used, itâs too slow to react and get out of it. Nevertheless it has been used on prominent episodes, probably the most widely known TACA Flight 110, which used a combination of forward slip and sideslip to make it to the ârunwayâ.
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Trying to maintain runway centerline after takeoff is not normally done, the proper procedure is to maintain runway heading. If a cross wind happens to âblow you off courseâ this is normal and ATC expects it and if your departure clearance includes a heading other than runway heading you do not start the change course until above at least 400 ft above runway (this may be increased by instrument departure procedures, always check the charts). That first 400 ft is your safety zone that airport authorities have ensured is safe assuming you are at least 30 ft above the runway as you cross the runway end.
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You donât⊠at least on takeoff you do not need to keep the fuselage aligned with the runway. You only need to track the runway centerline.
To achieve this you simply correct for the wind, by flying wings level slightly into the wind, so that as you are being pushed back the overall track is on the centerline.
The actual takeoff of course does require use of rudder and ailerons as you accelerate from zero to liftoff speed.
Since you are increasing the forward speed the crosswind component does decreaseâŠcounter to what you experience during landing.
But you actually use aileron to roll into the wind and correct with rudder to keep the fuselage aligned with the runwayâŠâŠuntil you are off the ground.
You can and will use both forms of slip in crosswind landings.
Personally I have always preferred the crab&kick to the side slip, because it is much more comfortable to passengers.
That is essentially a forward slip, but due to the wind you donât need to lower the wing in flight at all to keep on the correct path.
The thing that does need practice there is to go from crab to side slip to landing âŠ. all with split seconds before the mains touchđ
This sounds like a mexican standoff for landings 
Hi all, thanks for all the replies! Theyâve definitely been helpful. Tried to put the tips and tricks into practice and did some circuits earlier and managed to improve my crosswind takeoffs and landings.
Still have a long way to go, but it was definitely easier now i know why its behaving the way it does!
Now i need to figure out how to keep it on the runway once i land, it seems to be very twitchy on the rudder pedals. Its very easy to overcorrect and go sideways lol. Is it worth adjusting the sensitivity or just trying to focus on being gentle with the rudder pedals?
Note how on the A320 the rudder is not part of the fly-by-wire system but instead directly mechanically driven, so they âfeelâ differently than the normal aileron operations. More direct, so to say. I always try to remember that myself when adding rudder action into the crosswind equation. 
Well not exactly mechanically driven, there are cables yes, albeit theyâre not connected to the rudder itself, but to the hydraulic actuators.
Generally, GA aircraft are linear (and most airplanes have linear controls) so adjusting sensitivity would be a little bit unreal.
Nevertheless it is also true that you donât have the same physical movement of a real stick or throttle control, so personally, and more in a learning phase, I would go with it. For example, for my rudder pedals Iâve adjusted sensitivity because they have a short travel and not too much resistance, so very small touches do very big changes.
Donât be afraid and modify your sensitivity, just remember to keep track of your changes so if you need to rollback, you know what your changes were.
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