Quote:
Originally Posted by goomba
I get absolutely freaked out when I go through turbulence nad the plane starts bouncing around. Please tell me there is no way for the plane to just plummet to earth like a lawn dart.
No, it would be more like a free-falling safe.
Ha Ha...dark aviation humor...good stuff huh?
The plane is not going to plummet unless the turbulence is so severe that the plane breaks up. I've never heard of clear air turbulence being this strong, but inside a level 5 or 6 thunderstorm you're taking your chances with Mother Nature. That's why we avoid these things like the plague.
Even so, planes do successfully fly through very mature storms and make it...they really are built strong. Just look at the wing stress tests that Boeing (and others) do. The wing doesn't break until some ridiculously high G loading.
I well remember my worst ride: November 11, 1995, Dulles to Albany in a J-32 (built like a tank by British Aerospace). We were turned right into a red cell on the wx radar by Dulles Departure control (red=severe, probably level 4 or 5). It was night and I was flying. All hell broke loose, altitude changing +/- 1500 , airspeed going from stickshaker (stall) to Vmo (max operating speed, the red line, or Do Not Exceed speed; beyond this speed the manufacturer does not guarantee that the plane will stay in one piece) and back again. When we approached stall, I lowered the nose to maintain airspeed and avoid the stall; when we approached Vmo, I relaxed the controls so as to 'unload' the wing (i.e. reduce the g loading) and avoid overstressing the wings and tail. Throughout all this, the plane was shaking so violently that I told Tom, the other guy, "you have the power" and I used both hands on the control wheel. I couldn't read the instruments and could only keep a vague sense from the artificial horizon of our pitch and bank attitude.
I remember very well my thoughts at this moments: (1) don't go inverted and (2) I hope it doesn't get worse. It lasted probably less than 3 minutes...the longest of my life and it was still quite rough, though manageable, for the next 45 minutes. I'm sure the passengers thought this was the end. When we landed at Albany, they all sat still after engine shutdown with that 1000 yard stare.
It occurs to me reading this over that I probably did nothing to allay your fear of turbulence. I don't like it as a passenger either. For some reason I deal with it fine when I'm flying (sense of control?), but it puts me on edge as a passenger too.
BTW, one thing we do to mitigate the effect of turbulence is reduce our speed to a "Rough Air Penetration" airspeed. In the 767 that's 290 or mach .78, whichever is lower. Think of driving on a bumpy road. It's easier on everyone, including the car, if you slow down. In a plane, the instantaneous g-loading is reduced by slowing the airplane.
Last edited by W0X0F; 06-18-2014 at 01:04 PM.
Reason: Added last 2 paragraphs