Coping with turbulence

[wobblyprop]

I'm coming to the end of my aptl exams now. Hopefully the last ones will be next week.

I seem to have developed this increasing fear of flying in anything but smooth air.

I went to sardina last month and we were told on the ground at stansted that there is light turblence over france. So, the plane vibrates a bit, most of the way there.

I think i coped with it although the g/f said i looked a bit pale most the the way.

I am i being silly about this? How do pilots cope with turbulence day after day?

[redsnail]

Sounds like too much study to me.
Best cure is to go and fly.

How we handle it? Just remind our selves that the aeroplane was designed to handle the turbulence.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Grit my teeth and swear quietly.

And remember the only time it's truly vital to have the wings level is when I touch down at the end.

G

[exeng]

Don't go 'wobbly' on us now, remember we are all counting on you!

In 25 years of flying I've experienced turbulence of most kinds varying from very light to severe. In all those encounters the A/C has not been bothered in the slightest.

The only moments that have raised my pulse rate are when encountering 'wake'. It hasn't proved much of an issue apart from the occasions I have experienced it in a B.737 at 50 ft R.A following a B.757 in calm winds. Full aileron deflection both ways in the blink of a sphincter muscle!

But look on the bright side, it would be waste of money to pay to go into 'Thorpe Park'!


Regards
Exeng

[reverserunlocked]

Purely from a pax point of view, you do notice a definite 'vibe' in the cabin after the onset of fairly unconfortable turb. I flew with BMed on an A320 from Beiruit to Heathrow earlier this year, and the skipper warned us about the choppy wx over London soon after departure.

And choppy it was too. As we jolted around with our seatbelts pulled tight I noticed how people who earlier were in deep conversation started to fall silent, as if they were thinking 'what if..'.

Although I'm a PPLer myself and I'm well aware of how an A320 can cope with a bit of chop, when you look out of the window and see the wings flexing up and down you do seem an awfully long way up and more than once I found myself thinking 'what if..' too.

[saudipc-9]

Wobbly,
Just remember that the biggest problem about turbulence is that the FA's might spill coffee in your lap:D Or even worse after a four month enforced dry spell they actually have to stop serving "Wobbly Pops" an hour into the flight:(
Don't worry about it you get used to it.

[Flat-Spot]

Like Saudipc-9 says, you get used to it!

[Rwy in Sight]

Back in April 1986 I took off on a 727 out of LGKR (that's COrfou island in Greece) in heavy rain. So heavy indeed that they had to bus people to the aircraft a distance of 100 meters.

Anyway I was looking out of the window and I was hoping that Boeing did a good job on putting together the wing.

Next on was on BAe RJ the one that look like the BAe 146 on a rainy day on the way to Corfu - again- we got a downdraft I was sure to wet my pants with coffee. It flew up the cup.

Anyway it is always good to know that aircraft are build to take a lot of turbulence and desitergtating accident due to turbulence are virtunally non existent.

I stand to be correct.


Rwy in sight.

[seat_of_my_pants]

I like to fly, but I get nervous when the aircraft is turbulent.

I managed to alleviate it by looking at it this way:

As said above, aircraft are designed to withstand turbulence, and the pilots are trained so that the a/c is not put in any danger by this therefore...

The fear of turbulence is a control issue:

one becomes anxious about the bumps, but can do nothing to stop it and therefore the fear grows, as well as the anticipation and you tense up.

The way it works for me, is to accept the turbulence, and actually 'roll with it' i.e. don't tense and grab the seat every time the a/c experiences turbulence, but ride the movement.

If you have some music put it on too, it helps alleviate the stress.

I hope this helps - if you need any more info (I did quite a bit of research into it) drop me a PM, and I'll fill you in on the details,

Cheers,

SOMP

[bluskis]

In severe turbulence, slow down .