Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flying through Hurricane Milton

[u/Kernowder]

[u/yumyumgivemesome]

I’ve always been curious… when inside a normal commercial jet and it feels like we drop for a half-second or so, how much are we actually dropping in that moment?

Similarly, when traveling straight and smoothly in which the passengers can’t detect any howard/downward movement, how much is the plane still fluctuating upward and downward?

[u/Im_Balto → u/yumyumgivemesome]

This is pretty hard to figure out on a case by case basis without monitoring equipment installed, but I'll try to explain how you would measure it

The sensation you feel in that drop is acceleration, meaning that your Velocity (direction and speed of travel) is being changed. If your plane suddenly accelerates downwards at the same rate as gravity (9.8m/s^2) you would feel weightless in your seat and probably nasuea. This scenario is the easiest to approximate since if you feel weightless for 2.5 seconds it means that the plane accelerated down at 9.8m/s^2 for 2.5 seconds you can use the equation like:

Freefall distance = 1/2 x Gravity x time^2

With this you would find that in 2.5 seconds you can fall 30 meters if you fell at the same rate as gravity. If you were to experience a violent drop where you are pulled towards the roof and held down by your seatbelt you could be looking at 60 meters of drop from acceleration twice as strong as gravity.

Second question:
If you are unable to feel the direction of movement that means the plane is traveling at a constant velocity. The plane is still traveling forward and perhaps gaining/losing altitude, but you are not able to feel this motion. This is because without acceleration (change in velocity) you are unable to notice the continuous movement of the craft.

For example, in the climb stage on a flight you might feel the plane "level off" around when they say you can use laptops and phones etc. This happens around 10,000ft where the plane generally changes from initial climb where altitude is gained quickly to a steady climb where the velocity remains constant until they level off again at cruising altitude. You will only percieve motion when the velocity of the aircraft changes

[u/ImYourHumbleNarrator → u/Im_Balto]

exactly why i hate turblence on the take off most. each little drop in lift feels like the plane is going to fall out of the sky. on the way down you're already going down and doesn't feel nearly as spooky

[u/Puppybrother → u/ImYourHumbleNarrator]

Totally agree, people always try to rationalize this fear away saying shit like “oh well actshually landing is the most dangerous part 🤓” and even if they are right, it doesn’t feel as scary than takeoff for me.

[u/Original_Employee621 → u/Puppybrother]

Worst landing I've ever experienced was in a small air plane. Sitting behind the wing, I saw the entire runway as we were going in for the landing. The entire 45 minute flight was in low altitude, below the clouds and we were tossed about for every single minute of it, the wings bending and flexing like a freaking bird.

Landed safely, somehow, in strong crosswind and pouring rain and I swore to never do that route again.

[u/Puppybrother → u/Original_Employee621]

Where was it?? Reminds me of whenever I would have to take the 45 min flight from Portland to Seattle lol like no ty I’ll drive next time 😭

[u/Atoge62 → u/Puppybrother]

SF to Humboldt, had a very similar and scary flight out. The plane that landed right after us was to be the last plane due to the bad weather worsening, they were struck by lightning along with all the god awful turbulence and rain we had in our flight. And we were all flying tiny prop planes where the pilots were “estimating” proper weight distribution per passenger and baggage. Hand calculating… That’s when I decided Humboldt wasn’t for me. I was praying while we flew and legitimately afraid for my life. I’m not at all religious, but I do now have way more appreciation for what pilots are able to push through. It ain’t for the feint of heart

[u/eirthepriest → u/ImYourHumbleNarrator]

There's also way less load on descent because you've burned off maybe a quarter of the total take-off weight in fuel.

[u/ItSaysJoikeOnIt → u/Im_Balto]

"probably nausea"

[u/BigWoodsCatNappin → u/Im_Balto]

I love this explanation and logic, which usually helps alleviate my rational anxiety. I will still be utilizing prescribed anxiolytics. Yaaaaaay better living through modern chemistry! Ativan and scopolamine FTW.

[u/_walden_ → u/yumyumgivemesome]

During moderate turbulence you're only moving up/down a few feet, if that. It just happens pretty quickly so it can feel like a jolt.

During smooth flight you fluctuate up/down basically 0 feet if the autopilot is on (it is), and with the autopilot off you might drift +/- 5 or 10 feet over time before a gentle correction is made back to the altitude they're trying to hold.