Originally Posted by wlgarwood
I once got totally rocked (90 deg of roll left to right for two or three rotations) in a CRJ after 777 pased directly overhead. Wake hit when 777 was ten miles in front of us and 2000 ft above. I think this happens more now that everyong is on GPS supported FMS navigation. We were on airways from KJFK to KIAD.
The worst encounters of wake that I've had have all occurred in criuse or the enroute phase of flight. Yes, the accuracy of GPS aggravates the situation of encountering the wake of overflying heavies. With the other ingredient, light winds, you are in for a ride.
The same scenario almost put me up-side down in an ERJ following a 767 out of JFK. Luckily our FA didn't get hurt, but both of us puckered the seat cushions way up there. More recently, I was going to LA and we had a 744 pass right overhead, 1000 feet, opposite direction. Because of GPS, our tracks were identical. I was in a 744 myself, so you think that we wouldn't have rocked as much as we did. I was the PNF on the leg, so I only suggested the strategic 1nm offset into the wind side, but the PF wasn't inclined to give the boxes a smooth ride. Sure enough, about 15 seconds after the overhead traffic passed we were rocked with a few good jolts. Very sudden and hard, considering that we were in the same type and fairly heavy.
I think the combination of high altitudes and calm conditions prior to the encounter make it all seem a little worse. If you are up in the cabin, you are just not braced for the sudden jolt since it seems perfectly smooth just prior to the encounter. That makes it all the more important to be vigilant for conditions when you are trailing heavies in criuse and during light conditions.
Not to digress, but another nasty side effect of the accuracy of GPS is mid-air collisions. If it were up to me, I would offset all my tracks by 1 nm to the right, but most pilots (being the perfectionists that we are all trained to be) cringe unless the airplane symbol is right on top of the course line. Every day there are more and more aircraft out there. With RVSM and GPS being more common, it is only a matter of time before 2 aircraft meet perfectly nose to nose in flight.
So don't any of you guys lateraly offset out there on the airways. I don't want to run into you while I'm taking my criuse nap.
