Airliners crabbing at altitude?

[Richard_Pearse]

Australia has a lot of NDB only airfields so we get plenty of practice using the ADF.

[Broomstick]

Hey! I’m a pilot under 40 (barely) and I know how to use an ADF! No, I’m not an instrument pilot, either, but I do use them for navigation. Since I rent planes, I’m never quite sure *which instrument is going to crap out on me next so I want to know how to use 'em all.

But then, I’m pretty weird even by pilot standards…

[ShibbOleth]

Didn’t want to start a new thread but I got to experience a nice, strong crosswind last night, flying pretty much due south from Cincinnati to Tampa. The pilot kept apologizing about the turbulence (it was a pretty rough flight, and I have a decent amount of experience as a passenger). I asked on the way off the plane what he meant by “very strong winds out of the west” and he said they were at up to 120 mph (since I was a passenger I guess he didn’t want to throw knots at me). This was in a 737-200. So assuming the winds were coming at a perpendicular, what would our heading have been?

A secondary question about turbulence: with a couple of exceptions, most of my rougher flights have been in smaller planes. Is this because a) smaller planes are more affected by rough air? b) Smaller planes are flown on shorter routes, so there’s less possibility to route the flight around bad weather or c) all of the above or d) none of the above?

Thanks,

Shibb “Always a passenger, never a pilot” Oleth

[David_Simmons]

@ShibbOleth

Didn’t want to start a new thread but I got to experience a nice, strong crosswind last night, flying pretty much due south from Cincinnati to Tampa. The pilot kept apologizing about the turbulence (it was a pretty rough flight, and I have a decent amount of experience as a passenger). I asked on the way off the plane what he meant by “very strong winds out of the west” and he said they were at up to 120 mph (since I was a passenger I guess he didn’t want to throw knots at me). This was in a 737-200. So assuming the winds were coming at a perpendicular, what would our heading have been?

Assume the airplane speed is 540 mph.

If the crosswind is at right angles to the desired ground track then the crab angle is 12.8[sup]o[/sup] and the ground speed is 531 mph.

If the crosswind is at right angles to the plane’s track then the crab angle is 12.5[sup]o[/sup] and the ground speed is 553 mph.

A secondary question about turbulence: with a couple of exceptions, most of my rougher flights have been in smaller planes. Is this because a) smaller planes are more affected by rough air? b) Smaller planes are flown on shorter routes, so there’s less possibility to route the flight around bad weather or c) all of the above or d) none of the above?

Thanks,

Shibb “Always a passenger, never a pilot” Oleth

Not sure. The lift is proportioned to the size of the aircraft so the wind gust forces should also be proportioned to the size, assuming that the system is any where near to linear. This would indicate that both should be equally bumpy.

Large planes tend to fly above most turbulence. Also, I suppose their structures are more flexible which would make the ride not so rough.

[GusNSpot]

Don’t forget:
E : Sometines there just ain’t no smooth air to be had…