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Jetex,
The Foundation
What is turbulence and how can it be avoided?
Everyone has experienced a bout of turbulence
when traveling on a commercial flight or private jet.
It could have lasted a few moments or an hour
– usually when you’re about to enjoy a beverage or need to use the restroom.
How is it caused and is it dangerous?
We answer the most common questions and
dismiss myths about turbulence.
Let’s look at the reasons why it happens.
Types of turbulence
You have probably heard that bad weather
causes turbulence, which is not wrong. However there a range of factors that
cause turbulence.
Mechanical Turbulence: This is caused by
irregular air flow over the surface of the Earth, usually caused by hills,
mountains and buildings.
Friction between the air and the ground
causes eddies and irregular wind flow patterns, so during take-off and landing
the turbulence can be more pronounced.
Mountain Wave
Turbulence:
As air travels over mountain ranges, turbulent eddies are created downwind and
cause a wave-like pattern. These breaking waves and rotors can create severe
turbulence and can be found for hundreds of miles downwind from a mountain.
Frontal Turbulence: A weather front is
caused when two different air masses of different densities and temperatures
begin to transition.
Cold fronts are associated with thunderstorms
and warm fronts with fog and precipitation. Frontal turbulence is caused by
friction between the two air masses and most commonly with fast moving cold
fronts.
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Clear Air Turbulence: This is most common in the cruise stage of flight, above 15,000 feet. It is caused by wind shears in the jet stream.
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Clear Air Turbulence: This is most common in the cruise stage of flight, above 15,000 feet. It is caused by wind shears in the jet stream.
What is wind shear? Wind shear is caused by
sudden changes in wind speed and direction, both vertically and horizontally.
Wind shear is often related to jet streams. A
jet stream is a ‘river’ of fast-moving air in the atmosphere – sometimes
traveling up to 250mph. Usually flowing from West to East, aircrafts use them
to travel faster and cut fuel costs.
Thermal Turbulence can be categorized
as a form of Clear Air Turbulence: The sun heats the Earth’s surface unevenly –
barren earth, rocky and sandy areas and desert are heated more rapidly than
grass fields and much faster than water.
As warm air rises and cooler air descends,
the rising and falling currents cause bumpy conditions as the aircraft flies in
and out of them.
If a pilot expects thermal activity on a
flight, they may prefer to fly early in the morning or in the evening when the
thermal activity is not as pronounced.
Wake Turbulence: When an aircraft
travels through the air it generates a wake which in turn can cause wake vortex
turbulence. Airflow traveling over the wings generates swirling air masses downstream
of the wing tips.
The wake now consists of two counter-rotating
cylindrical vortices. They can exist for a few minutes depending on altitude
and wind speeds and is a risk to other aircraft in the vicinity – especially
business jets and light aircraft.
Thunderstorms: Cumulonimbus clouds
– commonly associated with thunderstorms – cause vertical currents which can
displace an aircraft up or down vertically as much as 2,000 to 6,000 feet. In
some cases, they can be severe enough to stall an aircraft.
To avoid thunderstorms aircraft pilots
usually have two options. The standard procedure is lateral deviation of 20
nautical miles. The second option is to fly above the clouds however, this is
usually a last resort.
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Now we know more about the causes of turbulence there are also different turbulence categories. You have probably experienced light turbulence, but there are other categories:
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Now we know more about the causes of turbulence there are also different turbulence categories. You have probably experienced light turbulence, but there are other categories:
Light turbulence briefly causes
slight changes in altitude. Passengers may feel a slight strain against their
seat belts. The aircraft drops/rises around 1 meter.
Moderate turbulence is more intense than
light turbulence. There is no loss of control of the airplane. Passengers will
feel a strain on their seatbelts, objects will be dislodged, and drinks may
spill. The aircraft drops/rises around 3-6 meters.
Severe turbulence causes large and
abrupt changes in altitude. The aircraft may temporarily be out of control.
Passengers will be moved aggressively in their seats. The aircraft drops/rises
around 30 meters.
Extreme turbulence the airplane is tossed
around violently and cannot be controlled. It may cause structural damage.
Is turbulence dangerous?
Turbulence itself is not dangerous and
aircraft are built and tested thoroughly to withstand even the most extreme
turbulence. However, it is when items or people in the cabin are not secured
that can cause injuries.
Most injuries reported due to turbulence are
cabin crew, who often are performing their duties in the cabin when spells of
turbulence occur.
Can you avoid turbulence?
The best way to avoid turbulence is flight
planning. Using the latest weather tracking and meteorological reports,
dispatch teams will use all the data available to them to develop the best
flight plan avoiding adverse weather.
During flight, reports are shared with other
aircraft and ATC (Air Traffic Control) to warn them of any turbulence or
changes in weather. Speak to the Jetex Flight Planning team for trip planning,
dispatch and flight following.
Can pilots spot turbulence?
Experienced pilots will be able to spot
potential turbulence caused by weather fronts or routes associated with
turbulence, however it is difficult to say for definite when turbulence will
occur with the naked eye.
As it’s difficult to predict and avoid
turbulence, it’s difficult to say what are the most turbulent flight routes.
However, in the case of Mountain Wave
Turbulence, mountain ranges like the Rockies, Andes or Himalayas are commonly
associated with turbulence and flight routes will try to avoid these.
Turbulence on private jets
Private jets fly higher than commercial jets
– Boeing and Airbus fly on average at 35,000 – 40,000 feet.
Business jets generally fly at 41,000 –
50,000 feet where they are less susceptible to air pockets and severe
turbulence, as well as a more direct route.
However, the reduced weight of private jets
can mean the same amount of turbulence would feel worse than if you were on a
747 jet.
Private jets can also be more flexible with
their flight routes in comparison to commercial flights, so if bad areas of
weather are spotted, the route can be altered to avoid a turbulent journey.
Is turbulence becoming more common?
With global warming affecting weather
patterns across the globe, scientists say that events of turbulence could
increase in severity by 10% to 40% by 2050. A 2007 study found that instances
of clear-air turbulence over North America and Europe increased between 40% and
90% from 1958 to 2007.
Jetex,
The Foundation
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exceed expectations, every time!
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our launch in 2005, we have become global leaders within the executive aviation
industry. We have built a reputation of delivering excellent trip planning
solutions perfectly paired with our global network of strategically located
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deliver our promise of excellence through our strong values and belief in providing
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