Turbulence

Here’s a way of seeing how bumpy it really is on your plane. Keep a drink on your table during your flight. When it becomes bumpy watch the contents of the glass and see how little gets spilt … even in the worst turbulence. Try that in a car! The bumps in the car are far worse than those of a plane  … but why does it seems so different? Of all the things that worry fearful flyers turbulence is at the top of the list. The reason that turbulence is so worrying to a fearful flyer like you, is probably because you think that flying is dangerous anyway and therefore anything that shakes the plane must make the situation even worse! When a plane moves through the air, the shape of the wing makes the air ‘thinner’ on the top of the wing and ‘thicker’ underneath the wing. This causes suction on the top and a cushion of air underneath that the plane can sit on. We know this is a fact of science because high-speed boats (hydrofoils) use the same scientific principle.

If you look at this boat, you’ll see that rather than floating on the water it is supported by the ‘wings’ that are submerged. Before the boat gathers speed it floats, like any other sort of boat. The wings of a plane work the same way. The faster it travels through the air the more lift it makes.

A boat and a plane both suffer ‘turbulence’. Somehow though we expect and accept that a boat will rock up and down and that we’ll feel it as it forces its way through the oncoming waves. Why is it that we don’t trust planes when they go up and down on the moving currents of air? It’s all part of seeing is believing. Suppose you couldn’t see water …what would boats look like… floating in mid-air. What would white water rafting look like? That’s the ‘water’ version of in flight turbulence.

Turbulence is caused by moving currents of air. 

Turbulence may be uncomfortable but that’s not the same as dangerous.

It’s easy for the pilot to fly the plane in turbulence.

The plane is strong enough to withstand the movements.

Tighten your seat belt as much as you can.

Keep tightening it. 

Say to yourself “Turbulence may be uncomfortable, but that’s not the same as dangerous.”

Relax and take your feet off the floor.

Understand that turbulence is a normal thing to encounter.