Thanks for that, guys. Ive never experienced bad turbulence, just about 2 seconds worth that felt like driving on a bumpy road.
It's when I hear other people saying things like "10 minutes before we landed the plane dropped like a stone for about a thousand feet" That I must say, scares me, but , I don't fancy vomiting in the aisles either....
I have always thought "Well if it was THAT dngerous I don't think the pilots would be doing the job...."
I think part of it comes from : I hate not seeing where I'm going, so I do all I can to get a window seat, usually in the middle of the plane. The problem is, then you see the engine wobbling about (even if you can't feel it) - that happened at 36,000 feet when I was returning from Nice last month, and in fact I didn't even think clouds went that high: it was like a thick murk, the pilot kept the seatbelt lights on for 45 mins while he avoided what he called "rather large clouds, just in case" Once the plane got into clearer skies, the wobbling stopped. It's just that they do look a bit fragile.... although I know they are immensely strong..
The thing is a lot of the worries I have are silly, but I still like to know about them to try and store it in my mind...
My favourite parts in flying are: takeoff (exhileration) : looking at the cloud tops and land (gorgeous) : and braking on the runway (relief the plane is on the ground)
So, here are some more questions, the most ridiculous first.
I read about the centre fuel tank combustion when empty on the 737.or.uk site, quite worrying. Since (i assume) the budget (and maybe for that matter other) airlines don't carry much more fuel than they need for a given journey, how many UK airlines run planes with an empty tank? (Please be honest on this)
If a plane has to (if it can) land at a faster speed than usual due to weather, how much braking ability does it have in reserve over normal?
On a percentage basis (low visibility excepted), how much is the balance between pilot/ATC as regards other aircraft - ie is the pilot completely ignorant of other planes, or are there other ways of knowing?
And (for now).....
lastly, on a 737, the tyres are not inside the plane when the wheels are up. How much does this matter at 30 odd thousand feet up? Surely freezing and heating up isn't good for them? (For that matter, I also think "Stone me that plane was up in the stratosphere 20 minutes ago, now it's in boiling heat, and in another hour it'll be freezing again" I take it this is all accounted for in the designs as well?