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tell me about your worst turbulence experience!

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edhellinde	tell me about your worst turbulence experience!	Lead	[-]
Posts: 18 (12/09/09 01:11:21) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None I am flying this Sunday to Poland and I think it would help me to hear different stories of "bad" turbulence that obviously wasn't dangerous and everything turned out just fine. Just in case my ride is bumpy, then I can remember your stories and remind myself that even severe turbulence is not a problem for the plane. I would really appreciate it I am also doing SOAR complete relief, but I only started last week, so hopefully this is enough time to get some results.
RAGeneral		#1	[-]
Posts: 10 (12/09/09 12:25:19) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I don't think your strategy will help. Trust me, I understand why you think it will. But if you hit turbulence you will still think 'this time might be different' and get scared.
edhellinde		#2	[-]
Posts: 19 (12/11/09 18:25:45) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	hm maybe you're right. i already asked some people i know in real life, so i'll see how their stories will affect me, if at all, and let you know
MariekeFJ		#3	[-]
Posts: 2 (12/21/09 14:35:07) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Not sure if this is any help...... I was at a wedding of a cousin, he works for NASA, so the person I talked to was a friend, who either worked at NASA or the weather service or something. Now this is not a job I would apply for, but he gathers data in hurricanes while flying. He told me they have tremendous drops, of 100s of feet (don't remember exactly how much, just ALOT), and he said often the crew can even get motion sick. I would imagine. He told me the 'hurrican center' (?) had ONLY lost 3 planes in hurricanes, and they were all hurricane 5's and all in the 70s. No issues at all since the 90s. OK, so you are probably never going into a hurricane cat 5, and probably will never drop 100s of feet. Likely your plane will still survive. Not sure if that is any help, it comforts me somewhat!
Capt Tom Bunn MSW LCSW		#4	[-]
Posts: 2785 (12/23/09 04:28:31) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In regular airline flying, the "drop" is less than an inch. The "drop" in a hurricane are not accurately reported because they usually cite the altimeter reading as the measuring device. That overindicates the drop because it is not a drop of the plane itself but a drop of the atmospheric pressure the altimeter reads. A lot of pilots don't realize that. I remember a pilot who tries to help people with fear of flying say drops she has seen are twenty feet at most. She didn't realize that was only due to change in atmospheric pressure and the plane moved an inch at the most.

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Note from Capt. Tom

I know everyone worries about weather, but pilots really do not worry about it. We simply - instead of worrying about it - completely prepare for it. Before going to the plane, we review the weather at the destination. If it is not 100% sure to be within legal limits when we arrive at the destination, we must specify an alternate airport in our planning documents, and load on plenty of fuel for going to the destination airport, and then if need be, diverting to the alternate airport.

The legal limits are conservative. Even when weather is slightly outside the legal limits, any airline pilot could still land safely. You can rely on the captain never to land when the weather is not legal, and legality limits are reached prior to safety limits.

If you are still anxious, call me and we can talk it over. I'm at 877 332-7359 from 10 AM until 7 PM Eastern time.

For effective help, even if you are flying in a day or two, sign up now at www.fearofflying.com/fasttrack and call me when you finish Clip 9 so I can make sure you are all set.

Using Weather Information

If you enter your ZIP Code or City at the top of the weather presentation, it will give you weather for your area. Or, you can enter your destination ZIP Code or City.

Click on the "LOCAL RADAR" button to see whether or not there are thunder-
storms. Keep in mind, however, that we can either fly above the storms when cruising or fly through gaps between storms. During landing, we cannot fly above them, but fly through gaps, or through the area of the storms where the turbulence is least.

Turbulence, though it may cause anxiety, does not mean anything is wrong. Turbulence does not mean danger. The plane can handle far more turbulence than Mother Nature can dish out.

Though flying in turbulence is safe, it doesn't feel safe. And here is where the SOAR programs come in. We can help you feel as safe when you fly as you actually are.

You can see these programs at www.fearofflying.com/store.

For questions on aviation or the psychology of aerophobia, click here to e-mail Capt. Tom Bunn, MSW, LCSW.

To contact the SOAR business office (media contacts, brochures, replacement tapes, billing, shipping), click here to e-mail Lisa Hauptner, MS.