The crosswind leg is the part of the rectangular pattern that is horizontally perpendicular to the

extended centerline of the takeoff runway. The pilot should enter the crosswind leg by making
approximately a 90° turn from the upwind leg. The pilot should continue on the crosswind leg,
to the downwind leg position.

Turn crosswind
This tends to be an unknown with many pilots however the AIM suggests pilots turn
crosswind 300 feet from pattern altitude. Example: If your pattern altitude is 1,000
feet, you'd turn crosswind at 700 ft.

How many legs are in an airport traffic pattern?

six legs
A traffic pattern has six legs: Departure. Crosswind.
What is downwind leg?
The downwind leg is a course flown parallel to the landing runway, but in a direction
opposite to the intended landing direction. This leg is flown approximately 1⁄2 to 1 mile
out from the landing runway and at the specified traffic pattern altitude.
What is base leg?
Base Leg-
A flight path at right angles to the landing runway off its approach end. The base
leg normally extends from the downwind leg to the intersection of the extended runway
centerline. Final Approach. A flight path in the direction of landing along the extended
runway centerline.

Crosswind would tend to make the aircraft drift to the side of the runway. Before getting the
wheels on the ground, that’s a problem.

Banking into wind causes the lift force to tilt into wind. The upwards part of that tilted force
keeps the aircraft flying. The sideways part of the tilted force acts against the crosswind, so
the aircraft does not drift off to the side of the runway before touchdown.

Usually, banking the aircraft causes a turn. To prevent a turn from developing, the pilot will
use rudder.

So, in a crosswind from the right, the aircraft will bank to the right (prevent drift) and yaw
with rudder to the left (to prevent a right turn).

In general, this is what’s going on in this type of landing:

 Ailerons applied to bank the aircraft into wind. Just enough to prevent the
aircraft drifting sideways to one side or the other.
  Rudder applied to cause a yaw in the opposite direction, preventing a turn. Just
enough to keep the aircraft aligned with the runway.
 Elevator applied to maintain the descent rate just right to achieve touchdown on
the runway’s touchdown zone.
 Power varied to maintain the correct speed for landing.
Please note some minor complications. The secondary effect of rudder is roll, so every
rudder movement requires adjusting ailerons. Rudder and elevator both alter the aircraft’s
drag, so any significant movement of rudder or elevator will require a power adjustment.
Power has a secondary effect of changing rate of descent, so changing power will also
require an elevator movement. It’s a beautiful dance that gives a lot of satisfaction when you
get it right!