student pilot question regarding turbulence

K

knie0012

Well-Known Member
I am a student with just under 25 hours of flight time. I have a handful of solo hours so I am VERY green. Today, I went solo out to the practice field and the whole time it felt like I was fighting the wind, and turbulence which made my flight not very enjoyable.

I fly a c150 for training and was thinking that flying higher or lower would resolve it. That was not the case.

Going into the wind my ground speed was 65-70 knots, and downwind my groundspeed was 125-135.

Is this something to be afraid of? Should I scrap my flight when turbulence occurs? I get so damned scared that any type turn or attitude change will be risking "it".

Am I being a too much of a chicken in turbulance? I know it won't fall out of the sky but it seems that I have to fight to keep it the wings straight and level, and turing it feels like the damned plane will flip...

Thanks for reading, and any advice or other experiences would be great!
Jason
 
There's a difference between not liking and being afraid.

There is not much objectively to be afraid of. One thing that might help is to ask for an instructor to go up with you on a bumpy day and ask her to fly for a while. Watch what she does; how little she fights it; and have her tell you what she is doing. Heck it works for passengers; it should work for a pilot.

That does =not= mean you have to like it.
 
Basically what you are afraid of is what you don't know.
I bet if you went and flew the same flight again, you would feel better about it this time.

Right now there is a gray area in your flying. How much turbulence is too much? You won't know until you have the experience, that is all part of training.

Think of the flight as a great experience.

You might be able to equate this to your stall training. When you get a wing to dip, how close are you to a spin? Unless you have done a spin, you don't know what will happen next and that fear of what you don't know is normal. Like most things in your day to day life, the bark is worse than the bite.
 
I’m sure most guys on here can tell you stories. Everybody has played in turbulence. Heck the first time I went on an intro flight we encountered very light chop. It sent chills through me because I was not sure what to expect. Now as passengers deplane every once in a while someone might comment that the flight was kind of rough and I'll think to myself, "No it wasn't, that was a nice ride!"

Turbulence is just part of flying, but like the others said you don’t have to like it. Honestly unless you get into severe stuff you really don't need to overly concerned. (Obviously keep things at maneuvering speed.) It’s not something you need to fear; though a healthy respect and understanding for any type of weather phenomenon is a wise idea.

If you find yourself in some nice bumpy air, don't let it get you into a panic, just keep aviating you’ll be fine. In small GA aircraft I have been in severe turbulence at least four times I can remember. In every case I tried to find a way out of it and just kept the attitude of the plane as normal as possible. (Two were associated with mountain flying.) It sucks to be "just along for the ride", but things worked out OK and in all of those cases I learned a little bit more about what to expect in certain places and situations. Not to mention what I would do differently were I faced with a similar scenario.

In GA aircraft I tried to avoid places and times that I KNEW had steady moderate or better turbulence. Not so much due to danger, but since it took the fun out of it and it is not conducive to teaching and learning. (Why waste the $$$?) That said it is kind of hard to completely predict and sometimes you just have to ride it out.

Keep studying the weather and with time and experience you will get a better feel for it and when to expect some of the more hazardous stuff. Summer afternoons are always going to be bumpy. Changing air masses/fronts, high winds etc. etc. If you fly around mountains there are many resources on mountain flying, check them out. Pick your instructors brain about it too.
 
knie0012 said:
I am a student with just under 25 hours of flight time. I have a handful of solo hours so I am VERY green. Today, I went solo out to the practice field and the whole time it felt like I was fighting the wind, and turbulence which made my flight not very enjoyable.

I fly a c150 for training and was thinking that flying higher or lower would resolve it. That was not the case.

Going into the wind my ground speed was 65-70 knots, and downwind my groundspeed was 125-135.

Is this something to be afraid of? Should I scrap my flight when turbulence occurs? I get so damned scared that any type turn or attitude change will be risking "it".

Am I being a too much of a chicken in turbulance? I know it won't fall out of the sky but it seems that I have to fight to keep it the wings straight and level, and turing it feels like the damned plane will flip...

Thanks for reading, and any advice or other experiences would be great!
Jason
Click to expand...

At 25 hours you shouldn't have to deal with anything other than an occasional stiff wind. You need time to get used to flying an airplane. Just remember to always fly the airplane and never let the airplane fly you. If you follow that principle you'll be ok. I remember the very day after I soloed I took off alone to do a local cross country flight for practice, I didn't make it more than 5 miles when I decided to return. I just wasn't about to waste my time and money going up and down in drafts at 12 hours of experience.
 
I would have postponed the flight if I was on one of my first solos learning the airplane. That was a strong winds you had.
 
TURBULENCE:
i remember an article written in AOPA mag several years ago. it was about a test pilots experience in severe to extreme turbulence while doing T-Storm research. his plane was a beefed up T-28 (old military trainer)with reinforced wings, canopy and accelerometer (g-meter). he flew inside t-storms!!! over a few years of doing this he was still alive, flying the same plane and never saw the g-meter show more than (if i remember correctly) 5 g's!!! sounds pretty low huh, 5 g's?!
the premise of the article was that aircraft are built strong and when there is a structural failure, it is not the turbulence that caused the failure but, the pilots over correcting (fighting it). severe and extreme turbulence are rare. i have a few thou hrs and 12 years of flying in the mountains, backcountry and bush, i have only seen severe maybe twice. most pilots are wrong when identifyng the levels of turbulence they have just experienced, especially when inexperienced.
i also remember being afraid of turbulence when i was a student & i raced motocross for 10 years!
its the unknown for you, ya jsut dont know what to expect but, that will all change over time with experience.
There may not be any better motivator than fear to really get ya learning about something so, now is a great time for you to study up on Va (manuevering spd) not just the airspeed # but how it is derived for the plane youre flying, how it really works and how it applies to the category youre operating in, utility or normal or acrobatic if youre flying the "Aerobat". dont forget about max load factor (3.8 normal/4.4 utility) AND the ultimate load factor which is a 150% safety margin factor over those #'s 3.8/4.4........
you should also learn how to check weather online or call a briefer at an FSS to get NOTAMS etc. and AIRMETS which will notify you of possible turbulence among other things. if the airmet says "moderate turbulence" you as a student shouldnt go without your instructor.
the worst thing anyone can do, whether in a car, motorcycle or plane (whatever) is "PANIC" and overcontrol, ultimately losing control!
airplanes are pretty capable machines and can do and handle alot more than what most pilots realize, while continuing to fly and stay in the air.
the best way to conquer your fear is to hit it head on, prepared. learn all you can about turbulence, Va, categories & load factors. it will make you a safer wiser pilot but, will also help you realize the limits & capabilities of airplanes can handle your fears and then some.
i highly recommend 2 books. "The Basic Aerobatic Manual" by William Kershner. "Everything Explained for the Pro Pilot". by Richie Lengel
 
Don't fight to hold altitude too, not to say that you should stay at your altitude, but if its bad enough that there are marked excusions from your airspeed, you shouldn't fight it, just surf to the top of the wave, then down the backside. As you pull back on the stick in the downdraft you approach stall = bad, as you push forword in an updraft you get fast, then when you're fast structural damage can be done before reaching stall (look up what Va means) if you're fast enough = really really bad.

I've been rolled upside down by winds and what ricochet says is 100% true. Panic = instant death, fly the airplane, etc.
 
It isnt something to be afraid of. I have come to accept that a smooth day around here is pretty rare.:) One tip that will help is dont fly the airplane for every bump.

What time were you up flying? I was up at about 12:30 and one point the ground speed was in the 50kt range, and I am pretty sure that was pure sideways movement.:)
 
Sounds like you got some valuable experience today. Just remember-turbulence will rock you to sleep. But seriously, just roll with the punches. Don't fight to keep the wings level, they'll level themselves out and just try to keep you altitude constant, but don't push-pull yourself to death. You'll figure it out after a while, like everything in aviation-it takes experience.
 
I was up at around 3:00. I do check the weather every time, including winds alfot. All reports said there was nothing that would raise an eyebrow.

I have talked to my instructor about this and we even had turbulence like this on our dual xc to Telkeetna. He said it was/is nothing to worry about.

I do try and keep my attitute of the plane the same and the V(a) for a c150 is around 95/96, of which I was at.

I guess it is something that I need to work through and just gain experience in.

Thanks
 
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