Chat Wednesday 9 PM - 11 PM Eastern Time
Free Group Phone Counseling With Capt Tom Wednesday 10 PM - 11 PM Eastern Time
- dial (712) 432-3900
- when asked to enter the conference ID 9352101 followed by the # sign
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"But Turbulence Is Frightening Because It Is Out Of Control"
No. Turbulence is not out of control. Turbulence is controlled by Mother Nature. Think about the temperature of the air outside. Some days it reaches
almost 100 degrees, and some days it is below freezing. But, though the
temperature - like turbulence - is not controlled by you or me, it
always falls within a certain range. In the U.S., it rarely goes below
minus 25 or above plus 125.
Because we know the temperature falls within a certain range, and that
range is limited, we have learned how to deal with all the temperatures
we may encounter. The same is true of turbulence. It is never above a
certain level. But I suspect an anxious flier doesn't really understand
this, and thinks it might become so great it could threaten the plane.
No way! We know the most intense turbulence can become and we build
airliners with twice as much strength as is needed for the most intense
turbulence possible.
So you understand WHY turbulence is limited, consider this. Turbulence
- the kind you get at cruise altitude - is called Clear Air Turbulence,
or CAT. It is caused when the jetstream, which is a stream of
fast-moving air, scrubs alongside air that is not moving. The speed of
the jetstream is limited. How? Consider what causes the jetstream: the
earth's rotation. Since the earth's rotation is constant, the maximum
speed of the jetstream is restricted to what that constant speed of
rotation can produce. And, since turbulence is caused by the
interaction of fast-moving air and air that is not moving fast, the
amount of turbulence has to fall within a certain range, a range that
is not controlled by humans, but is in fact controlled by the earth.
That certainly should help you understand that turbulence is, in a way,
very much controlled, and thus is not a threat.
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No. Turbulence is not out of control. Turbulence is controlled by Mother Nature. Think about the temperature of the air outside. Some days it reaches
almost 100 degrees, and some days it is below freezing. But, though the
temperature - like turbulence - is not controlled by you or me, it
always falls within a certain range. In the U.S., it rarely goes below
minus 25 or above plus 125.
Because we know the temperature falls within a certain range, and that
range is limited, we have learned how to deal with all the temperatures
we may encounter. The same is true of turbulence. It is never above a
certain level. But I suspect an anxious flier doesn't really understand
this, and thinks it might become so great it could threaten the plane.
No way! We know the most intense turbulence can become and we build
airliners with twice as much strength as is needed for the most intense
turbulence possible.
So you understand WHY turbulence is limited, consider this. Turbulence
- the kind you get at cruise altitude - is called Clear Air Turbulence,
or CAT. It is caused when the jetstream, which is a stream of
fast-moving air, scrubs alongside air that is not moving. The speed of
the jetstream is limited. How? Consider what causes the jetstream: the
earth's rotation. Since the earth's rotation is constant, the maximum
speed of the jetstream is restricted to what that constant speed of
rotation can produce. And, since turbulence is caused by the
interaction of fast-moving air and air that is not moving fast, the
amount of turbulence has to fall within a certain range, a range that
is not controlled by humans, but is in fact controlled by the earth.
That certainly should help you understand that turbulence is, in a way,
very much controlled, and thus is not a threat.
But understanding - alone - will not stop the reaction you have to turbulence. To stop the reaction, you will need to learn and use the Strengthening Exercise.
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Back-Up System Used In Hudson River Landing
So many fearful fliers believe if anything at all goes wrong, disaster is inevitable. It just isn't so. Why? Because we begin a flight using the primary systems. If, during a flight, a primary system is out of normal parameters, the computerized monitoring system switches to the secondary system. Only if both the primary and the secondary systems fail to bring operation into normal parameters is the pilot alerted, so he or she can get out the manual and use it to go through the steps to switch to the backup system. Then, if the backup system isn't working properly, in many cases there is a back-up to the back-up, an emergency system.
Ordinarily, hydraulic power and electrical power are produced by each engine. Since there are two engines, and since the plane can fly fine on one engine, the second engine serves as a back-up to the first engine for power to fly the plane and for power to the hydraulic systems and to the electrical systems. Though having both engines fail is such a remote possibility that it would seem unthinkable, provisions still are made for that possibility. Even with both engines unable to produce power to fly the plane, normally they spin fast though - windmilling - that they continue to produce electrical power and hydraulic power.
And in the even more remote possibility that both engines fail to produce power to fly and also both are damaged enough to be unable to windmill and produce electrical power and hydraulic power, on the A-320 and on the 757, there is a further back-up device. When you were young, did you have a pinwheel on a stick you could put out the window of a car so that the airflow caused it to spin? That's the kind of device these planes use as a back-up to the engine windmilling back-up.
During normal flight, this device stays stowed. But if needed, it pops out into the windstream, it spins, and produces electricity and hydraulic power.
Here is an article about how this back-up (I still call it a back-up to the windmilling engine back-up) was used to land in the Hudson. See this link.
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The Unsinkable DC-8
See this link for more details and a photo.
On November 22, 1968, a Japan Airlines DC8 landed in San Francisco Bay approximately two miles short of the runway. Life rafts were deployed. Passengers deplaned onto the life rafts. There were no fatalities or injuries.
The fuel tanks were large enough to hold approximately 22,000 gallons of fuel. Since the plane had almost completed its flight, the remaining fuel was only a fraction of what the tanks were capable of holding. Thus, they provided enough buoyancy to keep the plane afloat.
The plane was towed over to the shore where it was hoisted by a crane. The plane was brought to the United Airlines maintenance facility where the plane was overhauled. The overhaul took about four months at a price of $4,000,000.00. The plane was returned to JAL the following summer. It was flown by JAL for fourteen more years. Thirty years after it accident, it was still flying after being converted to a freighter for Airborne Express.
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Beijing - "I Never Thought I Would Be Able To Do It"
Capt. Tom, I haven't had a chance to read your newsletters lately BECAUSE I'VE BEEN IN CHINA!!!!! I actually made it on a plane to Beijing. Oh my gosh, you can't believe how amazing I feel.
I thought that whole section of the planet was forever off limits to me. And with your help, I made it. Thank you so much for opening up my world. For letting me experience this wonderful, interesting and completely foreign culture. I never thought I would be able to do it.
As I was flying, pretty confidently, I felt like the whole world was once again open to me. It was amazing. Now maybe I can plan that African Safari, or kayaking in Australia. But even if I don't, this one trip to China was life-changing. And I am so happy and proud of myself.
And I thank you, thank you, thank you. You don't know what you've given me!!!
I thought that whole section of the planet was forever off limits to me. And with your help, I made it. Thank you so much for opening up my world. For letting me experience this wonderful, interesting and completely foreign culture. I never thought I would be able to do it.
As I was flying, pretty confidently, I felt like the whole world was once again open to me. It was amazing. Now maybe I can plan that African Safari, or kayaking in Australia. But even if I don't, this one trip to China was life-changing. And I am so happy and proud of myself.
And I thank you, thank you, thank you. You don't know what you've given me!!!
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Call So I Can Help You Understand Why SOAR Will Work For You
SOAR was established in 1982 because no programs existed that could help people with moderate to severe difficulties. Even today, no other program offers help that is effective except for mild difficulties. No matter how difficult flying is for you, we can help.
- Call me at 877 332-7359 between 10 AM and 6 PM Eastern time or
- Set up a time online at http://soar.genbook.com
- No Charge. No Obligation. Just get the information you want.
Or Enroll Right Now And Get This Over With
You will feel better as soon as you make the decision.
You will feel better as soon as you make the decision.
- Accelerated courses give you the most help possible in the time you have available.
- A twenty-minute private session and unlimited group counseling sessions are included.
- What you pay is 100% transferable to the SOAR Video Course 11 DVDs.
Start viewing on your computer screen in two minutes.
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Unsure Which To Choose
If you are unsure which is best for you, please call me at 877 332-7359 so we can talk it over. You will feel better as soon as you decide to act.
We are always here to help. As you go through the program, call or email whenever you have a question or a concern.
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Video Of The Hudson River Landing
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Bird Strikes
People email and ask, "I thought you said a bird strike could not bring down an airliner?" What I believe I said was that engines are built to eat birds and still run, and that we have not had a crash due to a bird strike in U.S. airline operations. So, now having flown for fifty years, an airliner has finally been brought down by birds. That in spite of - according -- to www.birdstrike.org -- 7,600 bird strikes reported last year.
Will engines be built stronger so that they can handle any bird, any number of birds, and of any size? I don't know. But if you can consider the record, one accident if fifty years does call for action by the FAA, but it doesn't call for panic on the part of anyone planning to fly.
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An Email
"While part of me is made to feel better by all of this - I can now feel optimistic that if something goes wrong it is not an automatic death sentence - another part of me is concerned that we have had this many "events" in such a short time frame. What is going on? Does it have anything to do with maintenance issues? Air traffic control? Obviously there is no controlling a flock of geese, but we know this is not the first plane to have birds hit the engines and those planes didn't come down. I was just wondering if there is any explanation that might explain why all of these things are happening and why so frequently?"
My view on this is that there is not any increase in frequency. There are accidents happening someplace in the world almost every week, but unless planning to fly, these accidents tend to not show up on a person's radar screen.
A similar thing happens in the summer due to thunderstorms. Weather forecasters cover themselves by saying "chance of afternoon thundershowers" almost every day during the summer. But people don't notice that. In fact, they may not even check the weather. Then, when planning to fly, they check the weather and become upset that on the day of their flight, thunderstorms are being forecast.
Then, when you do plan to fly, you notice the accidents or you
check the weather. The impression is created that something has changed
in the external world. No, the change was internal.
check the weather. The impression is created that something has changed
in the external world. No, the change was internal.
Often people email saying they believe an accident, or a series of accidents, is an omen. But if you were to pay the same attention year in and year out to the news - or the weather - you would see that nothing unusual is happening.
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Patrick This Week
About, not just two years of safety, but more. And, about cockpit doors and security. Read it at this link.
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Discuss Or Schedule An Individual Session -- Call 877 332-7359
Call between 11 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time (same time zone as New York)
You'll reach me easily. The toll-free number rings my cell phone.
Call between 11 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time (same time zone as New York)
You'll reach me easily. The toll-free number rings my cell phone.
- find out how I can help you with flying
- discuss the possibility of a counseling session
- set up a time that fits your schedule
Outside the U.S. and Canada call 203 258-4803
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Schedule An Individual Session Online
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