turbulence question?

[aurora30]

hello!

Our flight to Switzerland is coming up on the 18th. The anxiety is bad.... I can't wait to get things in motion and begin the trip.
I would like to know if anyone here has ever been in severe turbulences, my husband is concerned about that. Does it happen more over the Atlantic, how much can a plane take? Hopefully it'll only be a few bumps here and there.

Thank you all in advance.

[JohnRobinson]

Aurora-

Man, I would LOVE to go to Switzerland. Heck, anywhere in Europe would be great. Anyway, Ray's got some really good stuff on turbulence in his book and I think he's also posted a couple of things here on the different types and levels.

But I can tell you that pilots are about comfort-we wouldn't want to go through those bumps or bounces any more than you would. Part of a pilot's preflight prep is looking over the weather to get a "big picture" of what's going on in the sky. For instance, by looking at shear values, or a winds aloft chart, pilots will be able to determine spots or altitudes that might be a bit bumpier than others, and plan accordingly.

I myself have been in moderate turbulence in a commercial airliner, and moderate to severe (for a small aircraft) in a Piper when I was at the controls. My passenger didn't enjoy it, and I really didn't relish the experience either. Like anyone else, I prefer the "smoovness".

The aircraft can sustain much more abuse than you could expect as far as turbulence goes-and no commercial pilot would willingly try to test the aircraft's limits with customers on board.

I remember seeing a video from Boeing when they were doing wing stress testing during the 777's development-they basically took the wings of the plane (in a hangar) and started bending them up at the tips and pressing down with giant hydraulic presses closer in to the fuselage. When the wings finally broke (which was impressive) the engineering dudes came on and said that the aircraft would have to be sustaining something close to 9 or 10g's in load. That's more than fighter pilots can take. Anyway, the engineer egghead stated that the people inside would collapse before the wings would.

Anyway, have fun in Switzerland!

-John

[Huey]

Let's watch the "egghead" talk, and if you happen to say it, say it with reverence. You're sitting in the sum total of all of our efforts.

[MadScientist]

Aurora,

Severe turbulence is a really rare event. Out of the many hundreds of commercial flights I've taken, I might have encountered severe turbulence once. I've had some others that were most likely the heavy side of moderate. The majority of the turbulence you'll encounter on any given day is light. It all depends on the weather and winds aloft and the jetstream.

I've flown accross the Atlantic a few times and the overall flights were pretty good. Some small bouts of light turbulence but that's about all. I don't think you're any more likely to encounter stronger turbulence in an ocean crossing any more than when flying cross country. In fact, it's probably less since you don't have any mountain wave turbulence.

Enjoy the trip!

[beaugest]

This is definitely not as intellectual a response as the well thought out ones from the others but... Debbie recently reminded me to think of it as potholes in the sky. The last few times I flew the turbulence didn't bother . I think it was a combination of reading the posts here about turbs and Ray's book. It helps to have the facts. The thing that struck me was even listening to the stories of moderate turb while unpleasant they are not life threatening. The psychological part that the facts don't help with as much is that I think turbulence reminds us that we are on the plane and not in our living room. Harder to stay distracted. That's when I think a combination of facts and stress reduction techniques help.
I,too am flying for a long way. I hope it's smooth as can be(does knocking wood really help? ). But when the seatbelt sign goes on I'll just start chanting "pothole in the sky..." Monica

[JPenny]

I love to think about those crazy people who fly planes into hurricanes to analyze them and gather information. Yes, they fly into those hurricanes on purpose, in airplanes. Talk about turbulence!!! But to those guys, it's just another day at the office. Woo--hooo!

Jean

[MadScientist]

Strangely enough, my dad was a member of the hurricane hunters in Biloxi, MS at Keeslesr AFB.

Not me baby!:hamster

[CaptainStark]

Huey,
:hail God Bless the Egg-Heads and Nerds in this world! (I have been accusued of being both!)

Without them, we'd all be sitting in dark caves shivering.

(Gang: How was that? That wasn't over the top now was it?)

Now to the turbulence question:

Yes I have. Three times in 24 years. The plane came out fine in each instance. All the passengers came through fine because they were seated as they were instructed to be.

The occurrence of sever turbulence is fairly rare, as you can tell by my lifetime experience. I have been aloft the equivalent of over two straight years, 24/7, and have only encountered it three times.

So much is made about turbulence because it is an easy target to allow the mind to run amok fueled by adrenaline. You experience severe turbulence in your car probably every month or so and just laugh or swear to "cross that bump a little slower next time." For some reason, encountering the least little bump in flight starts the X-Files theme in your mind.

Air holds up the plane. At high rates of speed, air is almost like a solid. With air moving around in the atmosphere, your wing is slamming into moving solids. That means, on occasions, it will be bumpy. No pilot will intentionally fly into severe. A reports of the ride get worse, pilots avoid these areas until the hazard passes. Occasionally, pilots get surprised.

Relax. Enjoy your flight. You'll probably hit a few potholes on the way. Most likely, they will be minor in nature and transitory throughout your flight. When you get back, let us know how the flight compared to your pre-flight worries. I bet the flight was considerably smoother and nicer.

A FINAL REMINDER TO PONDER IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY BUMPS: How many planes disintegrated into dust because they hit potholes last year? Over the last decade?

The answer? Zero. None. Nada. Zippo. Bupkis.

Enjoy Switzerland. There is no more beautiful a place on Earth (except maybe in the summer).

Ray:ray

[aurora30]

Thank you for your explanation, I do feel better now.
I think that in our case, ( my husband and I ) our minds are messing with us.
I do think that pre-flight anxiety is the worst part. I'm trying to think that every time we encounter bumps in the sky, that will bring me a little closer to my family in Switzerland:)

Captain Ray, I got your book and I know it is going with me on that plane!
:airplane

[Huey]

"Huey,
:hail God Bless the Egg-Heads and Nerds in this world! (I have been accusued of being both!)

Without them, we'd all be sitting in dark caves shivering.

(Gang: How was that? That wasn't over the top now was it?)"




You @#%$. LOL. Good show.

[WillFlyToDisney2]

Now I have the song "God Bless the Outcasts..." running thru my head (what movie was that from?)...

God Bless the EGGHEADS!

:)
Kelley

[spleisher]

Kelley... Hunchback..... What kind of Disney Fan are you anyway!!! JK... Scott

[WillFlyToDisney2]

LOL Scott - yep that came to me later that nite. I'm a little out of touch with Disney life latetly. :cry I need a quick fix in Orlando!!!!

:)
Kelley

[Strange333]

Aurora,

I have flown to and from Europe several times and let me tell you they are the smoooooooothest flights I have ever had. I don't know why, but I have spoken to many people about this and most agree that flights over the Atlantic are usually smooth.

As far as how much turb a plane can take, you should see the 777 clip John mentioned. It is amazing and will put your mind at ease. I have personally been in some pretty bad turb and the plane doesn't seem to mind at all.

One little piece of advice: takeoffs in Europe seem to be a little different in some airports. Sometimes it seems that you rotate a little earlier on the takeoff. Climbout is steep with a lot of turns. I guess this is because there is very little free space and strict regulations (althought I don't know for sure)

Don't worry about anything! Relax and enjoy the flight! Give Europe a BIG kiss for me!

Nich

[aurora30]

thanks!

I have made that flight 10 years ago when I moved from Switzerland to the US, at that time I wasn't afraid of flying. My fears are taking over, but I do need to "just relax" and enjoy!
thank you for the advice!

Aurora:)

[LesliePHX]

John Robinson wrote:

<I remember seeing a video from Boeing when they were doing wing stress testing during the 777's development-they basically took the wings of the plane (in a hangar) and started bending them up at the tips and pressing down with giant hydraulic presses closer in to the fuselage. When the wings finally broke (which was impressive) the engineering dudes came on and said that the aircraft would have to be sustaining something close to 9 or 10g's in load>

One time when I was meeting my pilots, the first officer pulled out a book that had a photo of that Boeing test and showed it to me. The captain quipped, "Is that what was left after your last landing?"

I thought it wuz funny ... :lol :lol :lol