[floridaorange]

I don't particularly mind it - I've flown alot, but during my recent trip out of the country my friend told me about 2 incidents she experienced that were severe turbulence both of which were on her way to England.

Anyway, how anxious does turbulence make you? Of course bumpiness is to be expected - but I've heard stories of air pockets and stewardess's having to sit with their heads between their legs (must be a standard procedure) and thankfully I haven't experienced that.

What kind of self talk do you start doing when most passengers start to get uncomfortable due to the level of turbulence?

[Watching The World Burn]

I'm ok to an extent, don't mind turbulence in a minor way, but I don't like air pockets, flown through one before where we literally dropped probably 100 ft, just not a good feeling, and I'm wondering about the stress on the wings.

That one time, they were still serving drinks, cart was probably 4 seats behind me, cart actually lifted into the air by a foot or two and landed on the poor stewardess' ankle, she got hurt there. Coffee pot literally hit the ceiling. I was thinking this might be my last flight, but it got under control and we didn't hit anymore pockets.

[Chick Webb]

Meh. I just keep my seatbelt fastened, one hand on my drink/laptop (unless of course we're already getting bounced around, then they're stowed), and remind myself that unless I see something like this out the window, we'll be fine.

Portrait of a frightened man: Mr. Robert Wilson, thirty-seven, husband, father and salesman on sick leave. Mr. Wilson has just been discharged from a sanitarium where he spent the last six months recovering from a nervous breakdown, the onset of which took place on an evening not dissimilar to this one, on an airliner very much like the one in which Mr. Wilson is about to be flown home—the difference being that, on that evening half a year ago, Mr. Wilson's flight was terminated by the onslaught of his mental breakdown. Tonight, he's traveling all the way to his appointed destination, which, contrary to Mr. Wilson's plan, happens to be in the darkest corner of the Twilight Zone. - Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

[GERMAN M3]

WOW!! That’s some serious turbulence!!

[///MPhatic]

I'm 51.

I've never been on a plane.

Very soon now I'll be riding in a SMALL plane, which will be landing in Katy, TX, which I'm told is known to have massive heat variations upon descent that cause small planes to experience weirdness/turbulence.

Not looking forward to it.

[Tommy-G]

I have never experienced bad turbulence but on our honeymoon coming back from Europe the plane was I swore 90 degree angle to the runway because of wind. I SWORE it was over b/c the wing looked like it was going to dip into the tarmac and we were going down in a firey mess.
Rear wheels touched down, nose kicked back around 90 degrees and boom all was good in the world.

Def. the most scared I ever was on a plane.....I thanked the pilot for paying attention in class as we exited

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

I'm 51.

I've never been on a plane.

Very soon now I'll be riding in a SMALL plane, which will be landing in Katy, TX, which I'm told is known to have massive heat variations upon descent that cause small planes to experience weirdness/turbulence.

Not looking forward to it.

For some reason I feel much safer on the smaller jets and propeller planes I've been on..

I won't post the Larry King interview with Travis Barker (yet), but it's the worst scenario.

Once we tried landing in Denver the wind shears were too strong so the landing gear went back up and we took back off and just circled the runway for an hour somewhat sideways - that wasn't fun.

I also tend to wonder about climate change and it's affect on the comfort level of flights…

Anyway - where are you flying from? You'll be fine, again, small planes are east imo.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

I'm 51.

I've never been on a plane.

Very soon now I'll be riding in a SMALL plane, which will be landing in Katy, TX, which I'm told is known to have massive heat variations upon descent that cause small planes to experience weirdness/turbulence.

Not looking forward to it.

The pilot of a single-engine GA (I think it was a Bonanza) once reported turbulence. We have to know the severity so I asked him (light, moderate, severe or extreme). He said he didn't know but his head hit the ceiling!

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

For some reason I feel much safer on the smaller jets and propeller planes I've been on..

I won't post the Larry King interview with Travis Barker (yet), but it's the worst scenario.

Once we tried landing in Denver the wind shears were too strong so the landing gear went back up and we took back off and just circled the runway for an hour somewhat sideways - that wasn't fun.

I also tend to wonder about climate change and it's affect on the comfort level of flights…

Anyway - where are you flying from? You'll be fine, again, small planes are east imo.

It's a private plane, but not like a super duper expensive one, so I'm hoping it'll be pretty smooth.

Flying from Sikeston, MO to Katy, TX, so 607 miles. Not even sure how fast these small planes fly, but it will sure beat the 11.5 hour drive.

[G MONEY]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

I'm 51.

I've never been on a plane.

Very soon now I'll be riding in a SMALL plane, which will be landing in Katy, TX, which I'm told is known to have massive heat variations upon descent that cause small planes to experience weirdness/turbulence.

Not looking forward to it.

Can I hold your wallet?

[RickFLM4]

I don’t mind mild turbulence but have been through some bad versions. I always keep my seatbelt on.

Two times that come to mind are flying into Amsterdam and got severe shaking and another time flying into NY Kennedy when I remember seeing a guy up the aisle puke on his pants leg. I guess a bunch of other people saw and smelled it because there was a chain reaction. Then the landing was delayed and we had to circle around, so a few more lost it. I made it through the flight but for some reason got sick once I got into the airport.

Yeah I hate it when it’s that bad.

[BMWGUYinCO]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

It's a private plane, but not like a super duper expensive one, so I'm hoping it'll be pretty smooth.

Flying from Sikeston, MO to Katy, TX, so 607 miles. Not even sure how fast these small planes fly, but it will sure beat the 11.5 hour drive.

Sit at the window and enjoy the wonder that is flight. To this day, I always book a window seat and marvel at looking out.

[Tyga11]

Airplane turbulence has never crashed a plane. Just remember that the next time it's bad.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

Airplane turbulence has never crashed a plane. Just remember that the next time it's bad.

Depends on your definition of turbulence. Microbursts are a form of turbulence and have caused crashes. Clear air turbulence would have to be extremely severe to breakup modern aircraft.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by GERMAN M3

WOW!! That’s some serious turbulence!!

I would shit my pants lol. I am usually ok with turbulence and actually find it comforting sometimes, but it's pretty scary when traveling with a kid that's always not fastened

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by BMWGUYinCO

Sit at the window and enjoy the wonder that is flight.

...or sit in your seat (in a GA aircraft), and wonder if that piece of sheet metal on the floor (that's not much thicker than the beer cans you crushed on your forehead at college parties) will be strong enough to keep you from falling through the bottom of the plane before it's back on the ground.....

[Tyga11]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Depends on your definition of turbulence. Microbursts are a form of turbulence and have caused crashes. Clear air turbulence would have to be extremely severe to breakup modern aircraft.

"Turbulence has not caused a plane crash in 40 years"

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

The pilot of a single-engine GA (I think it was a Bonanza) once reported turbulence. We have to know the severity so I asked him (light, moderate, severe or extreme). He said he didn't know but his head hit the ceiling!

Light aircraft, such as a Bonanza, can get bounced around quite a bit, even in moderate turbulence.

As with any aircraft, big or small, the key is for the pilot to slow the airplane to its maneuvering speed (slower than cruise speed). Once at maneuvering speed (it's in the POH), the airplane will still get bounced around, but not enough to cause structural failure. Worst case is the pilot might have to pass out barf bags.

[Dang3r]

The only turbulence which had disturbed me a lot, was approaching an air-to-air refueling tanker and flipping around into its caused vortex wakes.
All others weren't scary or imminent to remember. If you are flying long enough, you had experienced the most of all.

[damianwo]

I fly on average twice a month to Europe. My wife checks the “turbuly” app every time we hop on a plane because she’s a chicken when it comes to rough air.

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by damianwo

I fly on average twice a month to Europe. My wife checks the "turbuly" app every time we hop on a plane because she's a chicken when it comes to rough air.

Sending that to my friend thank you

[jwzimm]

For anyone worried about the stress on the wings/airframe, don't be. The design criteria for an airplane and loads used for the analysis are very conservative. A 1.5 factor of safety is then applied to those ultimate loads and that is what the base design is modeled to handle. A representative frame is then assembled and physically tested to those loads to validate the analysis.

Here is a classic example of that testing on the 777:

Here is a similar test on the 787 (although they did not go to failure):