Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 90; Flight Crew Total 400; Flight Crew Type 300
Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control; Ground Excursion Runway; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control
Weather
On short final for runway 12R I noticed the wind sock was indicating a direct x wind from the left. As I crossed the numbers I began side slipping for a cross-wind landing. Upon touching down on centerline the aircraft immediately began veering to the right. I applied more left aileron and left rudder. The aircraft continued to move to the right and side loads were increasing. Ultimately the right wheel went off the runway pavement and onto the gravel; for approximately 3 seconds; nearly missing a runway light fixture. As the airplane slowed down I was able to regain complete control and continued on the centerline of the runway. After tie down I inspected the right wheel and the rest of the aircraft and found no damage. Looking back perhaps retracting the flaps completely right after touch down may have helped prevent this incident. Also; I may have been better off requesting a more favorable runway. However; I'd like to note that ATIS and ASOS before takeoff reported winds variable [at] 5 kts. Certainly they were nowhere near that when I landed. On short final I vaguely recall Tower reporting winds 15 kts from 020. Needless to say that they continued using runways 12L [and] 12R afterwards.
C172 Instructor reported a runway excursion during a cross-wind landing and regained control after aircraft slowed down.