AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2021 - 20

FLYING LIFE

Unsafe or just unpleasant?

BY NATALIE BINGHAM HOOVER

Tips for tackling turbulence
" HOW WAS IT UP THERE? "

We've all been asked that question when walking
into the FBO or flight school after a flight. Often, in
those environments, all it takes is one person to say how
terrible it was, how gusty and bumpy, and suddenly
people are finding reasons to cancel their flying plans.
I wonder why it is that we pilots find turbulence so discomfiting, when most of us experience some form of it
on every flight. In fact, the flights when the air is perfectly smooth are the exception rather than the norm.
I think it must have something to do with the fact
that we are a group that likes to be in control. As a
whole, we are not a blow-wherever-the-wind-takes-you
kind of bunch. We are planners, risk assessors, safetyminded individuals. Throw in some invisible forces that

If we fly long enough and over different
terrain, we will have the opportunity to
experience many types of turbulence.

NATALIE BINGHAM
HOOVER is a
CFI, CFII, and
multiengine
instructor with
more than 3,000
hours of dual given.

20 | AOPA PILOT January 2021

make it hard for us to maintain an exact airspeed and
altitude or a smooth ride for our passengers, and we
tend to balk at that scenario.
Here's the question we have to ask ourselves when
we hear pilot reports about a bumpy ride: Are the current conditions unsafe, or just subjectively unpleasant?
If we fly long enough and over different terrain, we
will have the opportunity to experience many types of
turbulence-most of them benign, some less friendly.
According to the Airplane Flying Handbook, there are
certain types of turbulence to watch out for because
they can actually cause loss of aircraft control. These
include wind shear, wake turbulence, thunderstorms,
and clear air turbulence such as the jet stream or
mountain waves. Those types of turbulence should be
avoided like the coronavirus.
The roughest turbulence I have ever encountered
was flying right seat in a King Air. We had just dropped
off the airplane owner in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and
flew in the clear air between two thunderstorm cells
on our way home. (When the FAA suggests staying 20
miles away from thunderstorms, there's a good reason
for it.) The rough bit only lasted for 10 seconds or so,
but it sure felt longer than that. There was little the

captain could do except pull both power levers back to
reduce our airspeed while waiting for the turbulence
to subside. When I looked at the back seat after things
calmed down, our snack basket had thrown up all over
the cabin, with bags of chips and soft drinks strewn
about like confetti.
But what if you are flying in the kind of turbulence
that feels more unpleasant than unsafe, such as hot
summer day surface heating or the eddies of air that
get displaced by the strong surface winds of winter and
spring? Here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Choose the right time of day. Fly early or late, when
thermal heating is at its lowest.
2. Know what conditions spell stronger turbulence:
surface wind speeds more than 20 knots, frontal
passage, temperature inversions, and unstable air
(cumulus clouds are an indication, or a high temperature lapse rate).
3. Another trick that usually works is to get above the
cloud layer. Even if it is only scattered or broken, the
air above typically is much calmer than below. I have
no idea what meteorologists call this line that you can
climb above, but it feels like magic to me, when you
go from being tossed around like a leaf in the wind to
suddenly flying along in air as smooth as glass. (If only
it were that easy for us to climb into smooth air in our
personal lives...2020 was a turbulent year.)
4. Watch your airspeed: If at cruise, stay at or below
maneuvering speed to avoid any structural damage. If landing in gusty conditions, increase your
approach speed by half the gust factor to avoid an
unintentional stall.
5. Tighten your seatbelt and secure your essential
equipment. A bumpy ride is much easier to manage
when you aren't getting tossed about in your seat or
dropping your iPad and checklist.
6. Ignore it. Accept minor fluctuations in altitude and
airspeed and get on about the business of flying your aircraft. Or you could do like me and pretend you're on a
raft in the middle of the ocean, feeling the waves underneath you, soaking up the sun. Nothing like a little piña
colada mind game in a stressful situation.
When people ask me " the question " now, I do my best
not to dramatize the conditions. " It was pretty nice up
there, " I typically say. And it's the truth. Even a bumpy
day in the air is still something to be grateful for. AOPA
myaviation101.com

http://www.myaviation101.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2021

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