Pilots and turbulence

[Hunter75]

I find UA is also a good choice because on most flights you can listen in to the cockpit communication with ATC on Channel 9. Not only is it fun to hear the chatter, but in the absence of a pilot announcement about the bumps, you can hear them ask ATC where the smooth air is. Then it's comforting as you climb or descend during turbulence; you know the pilot is chasing the smooth air.

[monkeyshaved]

That is interesting! Anyone know of other airlines where you can listen in?

[Hunter75]

It is my understanding this is unique to UAL. I know they are definitely the only domestic carrier with the service. They even trademarked "Channel 9" for their branding.

Keep in mind it's only available on mainline United flights (no audion on any United Express flights) and it's only available on United metal (so, don't think a code share with US will get you this).

[tb_neg]

It is a United only thing, and the one time I took United, they didn't turn it on for any of the flights.

[Hunter75]

Yeah, it is definitely disappointing when it's not on. I find that asking the FA after take-off will result in the pilot turning it on. I would say it's available on about 90% of the flights I take.

I fly UA for the extra 5 inches of legroom in Economy Plus...Channel 9 is just gravy.

[Putt4Par]

This one flight it was a red eye from PHX-JFK America West and we hit severe turbulence shortly after take off, well this turbulance lasted for another 3 hours and the pilot never said a word.

You guys are funny. You hit "severe" turbulence and then it lasted 3 hours? It is very obvious you don't know what severe turbulence is. Most pilots experience severe turbulence only two or three times in their careers. Severe turbulence is very short lived, no more than 10 seconds altogether. During severe turbulence the aircraft is out of control for a few seconds...meaning, the pilot cannot override what is happening.

Moderate turbulence is more common....the plane dropping fast and then going up, wings tilting from one side to the other, fishtailing. Even then, pilots will do everything possible to get out of moderate turbulence as it is very uncomfortable. Something that lasted for 3 hours was probably light with some moderate jolts. Nothing to be worried about.

Matter of fact, turbulence does nothing to a pilot. They change altitudes to give passangers a smoother ride. In most cases the autopilot is engaged and continues to be engaged as the airplane goes through the turbulence.

The only times an airplane goes through moderate turbulence and there is nothing to do is during approach or during ascend, but again, this is short lived.

P4P

[tb_neg]

I think that turbulence that is officially classified as 'light' by the FAA is probably described by many as 'moderate', and that FAA's 'moderate' is probably most people's severe, and severe would probably be quite unpleasant for many flyers (seasoned or other wise).

[vikingjunior]

If the turbulence I experienced was considered moderate then I surely wouldn't want to see severe.

[Putt4Par]

If the turbulence I experienced was considered moderate then I surely wouldn't want to see severe.

Most likely it was moderate, or even light-to-moderate, as moderate doesn't really last very long. The pilot will do everything to get you out of it, but sometimes they can't because rides may be bad from FL200 to FL400 so they have to ride it. But remember that if they try to change altitudes to get out of light or even moderate is basically for passanger comfort. Even moderate turbulence doesn't bother pilots much at all. That should be reassuring to you...at least a little bit.

And yes, I am sure you would not like severe turbulence. I don't think anybody would really "like" it. It is very uncomfortable even for pilots and downright terrifying for passangers. Even when it is short lived, people sometimes have a problem recovering from one of these episodes. But again, it is not very common and most pilots only experience it three or four times during their career.

[derekn22]

I find JetBlue to be very communicative too. I've taken them 4 times so far and 3 of them had some form of moderate turbulence. Each time, the pilots turned on the seatbelt sign and then came over the PA and actually tried to give an estimate of the time the turbulence would last (about 15 minutes which was very accurate). On my first flight, they mentioned that they were going to try and change altitudes but then they came back on and said that it was turbulent at all altitudes, so that we'd have to rough it out.

My flight into Long Beach last night had a bit of comedy to it too. Just after take off, we had to go through some clouds and they flipped on the seat belt sign just in case and said it might get bumpy. We flew through and had a couple of little bumps but nothing too bad. The pilot came back on and said "Well that wasn't as bad as we thought it would be! Nevermind." LOL