Table of Contents
How do airline pilots see through clouds?
Some aircraft are equipped with weather radar which can see through, or at least into, clouds to a certain extent. But only to see weather. An even smaller number of aircraft have FLIR (Forward looking infrared ) cameras which can see through some clouds. Those are typically just used near the ground.
Why do planes bounce in clouds?
Turbulence When Flying Through Clouds Clouds are made up of tiny water droplets formed by rising water vapour as it cools. More or less lift and the difference between these changes is what causes the aircraft to lurch and jump about during flight, or turbulence as it is called within the industry.
Why do planes shake when flying through clouds?
So whenever an aircraft passes through a cloud the air speed, density and air flow differ greatly than outside the cloud. This change interacts with the wing and creates the shaking effect. If the air flow inside the cloud is higher than outside your aircraft will tend to move up a bit and vice versa.
What is convective turbulence?
Turbulence occurring in convective storms, particularly thunderstorms, that is felt by aircraft. The turbulence is caused by strong updrafts and downdrafts.
What happens to your body when you fly in the clouds?
You look outside, you see which way the sky is pointing, and you adjust your airplane. But all of that falls apart when you’re in the clouds. That’s because the sensory input of your eyes and ears start to disagree in the clouds.
Why do I Feel Like I’m tumbling in the clouds?
As you slow, you feel like you’re pitching forward, and you tend to pitch up into a nose-high stall attitude. Avoid rapid acceleration and deceleration in the clouds. If you pitch down too quickly from a climb to straight-and-level, you can get the illusion that you’re tumbling backwards.
Why do planes turn in the opposite direction when they turn?
As you return to level flight, you feel like you’ve turned in the opposite direction, and you return back to the original turn. Because airplanes lose altitude in a turn unless you add back pressure, the airplane starts descending. Because you think you’re in a wings-level descent, you pull back on the yoke.
How do you prevent lean turns in the clouds?
If you find yourself pressed against your flight instructor in the clouds, chances are you have the leans. The best way to prevent the leans is to avoid super-slow turns in the clouds. You should never over-control your plane, but make sure your are authoritative with your control inputs.