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I want to know about - The Weather |
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Along with the fear of turbulence and the belief that air pockets actually exist many people who want to overcome their fear of flying want to know about the weather. Anxious flyers are interested in three aspects of the weather firstly fog and low visibility, secondly the wind affecting the takeoff and landing and thirdly thunderstorms and turbulence.
Modern autopilot systems allow an aircraft to land in very low visibility. The low visibility may be caused by fog or by very low cloud, which very much amounts to the same thing from the pilot’s point of view. When landing in fog the pilot has to make sure that to the autopilot is going through the correct sequence until the aircraft touches down (see a plane landing in bumpy weather). All that has to be done then is for the reverse thrust to be applied until at a speed of about eighty miles an hour the autopilot is disconnected and the airplane taxied to its parking position. The main difference between landing in fog and in low cloud is that in cloudy conditions it is very likely that the pilot will see the runway before landing. When ever the visibility or cloud base is below prescribed amounts the pilot is not allowed to fly the aircraft manually, but is required to use the autopilot. Many fearful fliers believe that the wind has more influence on an aircraft than it really does. The only requirement with regard to the wind is that it is not blowing across the runway more than a certain amount, which is normally about 50 miles per hour. The aircraft is not difficult to takeoff or land when the wind is blowing across the runway at these speeds (see a plane landing in bumpy weather). The natural tendency for the aircraft is to turn towards the wind and as a passenger, you may feel the aircraft moving to the left and right slightly as it maintains the centreline of the runway. When the aircraft is airborne, the wind has no effect other than to affect the direction the plane is travelling in. It does not have any effect on the controlling of the aircraft or the way it flies. Aircraft are not allowed, by law, to fly into thunderstorms and when passing them must avoid them by at least 20 miles. |
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