Sometimes, keeping the ball centered means crossing the controls.

by David St. George

There is a growing “terror” in flight training of any cross-controlled flight condition. Many CFIs caution students to “never cross-control,” with little or no explanation, as if it were unquestionably and inherently evil. This admonition is especially stressed when flying at any airspeed lower than cruise. But the emphasis on avoiding cross-controlled flight is a disservice to primary students and displays a fundamental misconception of aerodyanimcs and basic airmanship. The most extreme form of this fallacy intones, “Never slip to land; you’ll be low, slow and cross-controlled, will stall, spin and die.” …