Question to all pilots, cabin crew and anyone else who flies regularly
 

Hi Everyone,

I would like to ask a question to all pilots, cabin crew and anyone else who flies regularly.

For the past 2 years I’ve been working to cure my fear of flying and have made great progress! I’m flying again and have been on more than 10 flights during this time!

Surprise, surprise the only thing that bothers me about flying now is turbulence- though I’m yet to fly in any turbulence.

I absolutely hate stomach drops on rollercoaster rides and this is what worries me about turbulence.

So my question is:

What does turbulence feel like? Is it like riding big rollercoasters with the stomach drop feeling?

Thank you for your help.

It normally feels like driving on a bumpy dirt road.

The worst aspect of turbulence is the cessation of drinks service. Seriously.

It depends. The description post by Aerocat is a good one that covers most moderate turbulence. Slighter versions also exist as do the more extreme. As somebody has mentioned drink, let's go through some ride qualities. The majority of time you fly we fly with the seat belt sign off. If you had a totally full cup of tea it would not spill. The next level is a full cup will spill a little every now and again. In our part of the world the rough stuff is where a 1/4 full cup might spill in cup holder. But I ask you this: would you have a open cup of hot tea in your car? In some parts of the world there are more extremes and generally it doesn't last forever. We don't like it, the cabin crew don't like it and neither do the passengers, so we try and get out of it. The plane doesn't really care.

Unfortunately, the some of the rough stuff is described by passengers as being like a roller coaster ride. The reality is that unlike a roller coaster, most rises and falls are just a few feet but the passengers have no way of knowing and exaggerated claims go unchallenged. You will often hear descriptions of "air pockets", the word "plummet" and "I thought I was going to die" when used to describe a what passengers believe is a rough ride. Amazingly, time after time these very same people are safely delivered to their destination just like a James Bond Martini - shaken, not stirred.

My suggestion is to always fly with your seatbelt on, mine always is, wherever I sit. When the bumps start, down your drink. Then relax and go with the flow. I also find gentle bumps have the ability to rock me to sleep.

Enjoy your flights.

Indeed. The best comparison I've heard is that it's like being a passenger in a 4x4 car. Mild turbulence is like driving on a smooth but unsrfaced road, where the most severe turbulence is a bit like doing a full off-road course at speed. But severe turbulence is very rare in an airliner because most of the weather that causes it can be seen on weather radar and avoided, and because pilots report it to eachother so that those behind can route aropund it (except for a few specific places in the world where it's sometimes unavoidable). In my experience as SLF over 99% of the turbulence is just like doing 40mph on an unsurfaced road or driving on the motorway in a car with unbalanced wheels. You might get a few lumps and bumps during the climb and final descent, but nothing alarming.

...along with claims that the aeroplane was about to go into a "nose dive" or "tail spin" (I've never been clear on the difference between a "nose dive" and a "dive", and I've yet to observe a tail spinning while the rest of the aeroplane remains straight & level!).

I always assumed that this was a typical Flemming affectation, but when I lived in the colonies I received my cocktail education, and discovered that a "stirred" martini will have no ice in the poured drink, so it will be slightly less chilled but stronger (less diluted), while a "shaken" martini will have small fragments and shards opf ice remaining in the poured drink so it will taste more chilled and will be weaker (more dilluted).

Rob, you are far from alone. After many, many years in the business, I think I am correct that turb is the most feared experience by pax in the air. It is because they do not understand it (a bit like my wife and me).

As someone has posted, most turb can be avoided with the use of radar. However, there is stuff called clear-air turb which the radar cannot see and that sometimes gets us by surprise. If people are waltzing around the cabin when it strikes, some might get hurt. Mostly, the seat-belt sign will be on and everyone is tied down. That's part of the problem: you are tied down in a tube and can't see what's going on. Scary. Never mind, the aircraft (as written above) doesn't care and it will not fall to bits. If you are ever in one that does fall to bits, you can sue me.

It's not turb that will kill you; fags and booze are much more likely to.

turbulence
 

Belted should prevent being one of those on TV news who hits head on ceiling. Boats experience "rogue waves" on rare occasion...maybe analogous to clear-air turbulence?
OP: turbulence doesn't seem to cause many plane crashes. Seems to injure a few of the unbelted during flight phases when belting isn't mandatory. I prefer flight turbulence over the slow rocking motion of large boats, which can induce sea-sickness.

Hi Rob,

First of all, well done on overcoming your fear of flight :ok:

The main problem with turbulence is that it is invisible and hard to predict. We will never fly through big storm clouds - which we obviously can see - and in which there certainly will be turbulence, but otherwise we make educated guesses using other aircraft reports and various known areas and phenomenon such as jet streams, and storm clouds.

Driving along a cobbled road, or an off road track describes most light and moderate turbulence pretty well. Another way of thinking about it is like being in a small boat on choppy water - you get thrown around a bit but are essentially OK.

As has also been stated, modern aircraft are actually very strong, and even if they are being thrown around, they will hold together. They certainly won't "fall out of the sky". Some turbulence might occasionally cause a momentary reduction of lift, and passengers and crew have been known to hit the cabin ceiling, so it is always a very good idea to keep your seat belt on - we always do in the front.

When in turbulence as a passenger you might find it better to close your eyes. The human brain gets confused when the ear's balance organs are reporting turbulence and movement but the eyes cannot see the movement because all they can see is you sat in the cabin which does not appear to them to be moving. This confusion can lead to nausea.

So don't worry. Turbulence is a nuisance and can be quite uncomfortable - but that's about all - and we will do our very best to avoid it.