What is Turbulence?

Turbulence causes a lot of stress and fear to flyers especially when they are not confident. It can get the best flyers when it hits no matter how much they’re experienced.

Turbulence is an unpredictable event which can sometimes turn out to be very dramatic. It is though very common and usually very safe when flying. The best way to conquer the fear is knowledge. The information’s below, therefore, explains the science of turbulence.

 Causes of Turbulence

Turbulence is a phenomenon that occurs when an aircraft flies through a turbulent (unstable air) due to various reasons. Strong winds can cause Turbulence when the aircraft is close to the ground. It creates a stimulation that looks like one is flying in a stormy wind. In hotter climates, the rising thermal currents can heat the ground and thereby destabilize the air and cause turbulence.  

It can also be caused when the air rises on higher altitudes vertically from high to low. This phenomenon can also be caused by flying over mountains, flying in the wake of bigger aircraft, and jet streams.

Is Turbulence a danger?

Turbulence is very harmless in most cases. All aircraft are built to withstand adverse and difficult weather conditions. The crews are in perfect control of the situations. It may seem difficult at first, but rest assured the aircraft will not take damage from turbulence.

The crew of the aircraft is to make sure the passengers are perfectly calm during the process. They are there to ensure the passengers are relaxed and comfortable. It is a common saying that the pilot does not see turbulence as a safety issue, he rather sees it as a  customer service problem.

The passengers are very safe with even the biggest turbulence. The aircraft are built to withstand the worst of punishment; they are also required to pass the positive and negative test of G-load.

Can turbulence be avoided?

There is no perfect scientifically method of predicting turbulence, to pilots, it is an art. Pilots can only predict the chances from different clues like weather charts, real-time reports, radar, and especially reports from airplanes that recently flew in the area.  

Some tend to experience turbulence more than the other; this thus gives pilots a chance to predict and avoid turbulence when they can. They tend to avoid areas of lime mountains and jet stream boundaries.

Turbulence can sometimes be so unpredictable. They are referred to as ‘’clear-air turbulence”. They happen mostly when the rising air is super dry, this causes little or no co-condensation to be formed, and this cannot be found on any weather radar.

The phenomenon may not be predictable but different producers are development major tech to help avoid and predict turbulence altogether. Technologies used to determine turbulence includes the ultraviolet laser that shows some promise, this means in a few years, turbulence might not be a problem. Until then, a passenger should be assured that turbulence may be bumpy, it is very safe. You should hold on to your drinks and enjoy the flight.