1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh. There's Mr. Chuck, 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,039 Speaker 1: and there's Ms Jerry over there. That's Ms tu Succa. 3 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: This is, like I said, short stuff. Buckle up everyone. Yeah, 4 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,760 Speaker 1: for the turbulent addition of short stuff. Have you ever 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: had a bad like really bad? No, not really bad? No, 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: Yeah I haven't either. You know, there's actually a classification 7 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: for that. It's not called really bad. It's called extreme 8 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: or severe. But there's three types of turbulence. There's light turbulence, 9 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: you know, it's kind of kind of shakes like your 10 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: drink a little bit. And I'm going on this again. 11 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: There's moderate, which is like your drink is now spilling 12 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: out of your cup. And then there's severe and that 13 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: is like the kind where people get hurt sometimes very 14 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: rarely die. But um I saw photos of a plane 15 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: ride from Santa Anna up to Seattle, I think, and 16 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: it was like a Delta flight and the drink cart 17 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: was on its side and like they have been serving 18 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: drinks and the thing the plane just hit turbulence, took 19 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: a two ft nose dive, and apparently one of the 20 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: flight attendants and the drink cart were on the ceiling 21 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: and it just came down. So it can get pretty bad, 22 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: but it's very very rare, it turns out. Yeah, So 23 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: if you haven't picked up on it, we're talking about 24 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: airplane turbulence and specifically when a pilot knows when they 25 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: come on there and say, you know, hold onto your 26 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: butts everyone, here we go in the next ten minutes. 27 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: I've always wondered, like, what the deal was, Well, now 28 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: we know. Now we know when we can just bother 29 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,319 Speaker 1: every passenger next to us till the end of let 30 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: me you know how they realize, you know, when they 31 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: make this announcement. Yeah, if you really want to get 32 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: at somebody sleeping next to you on an airplane's attention, 33 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: don't just kind of elbow them, like just slowly increase 34 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: the pressure of your pointy elbow in the rib cage 35 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: until they wake up. That'll get them talking. Yeah, And regardless, 36 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:03,919 Speaker 1: like you said, of how bad it gets, it's usually 37 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: not to that big of a deal. Um, as far 38 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: as planes go there, they're made to take it. I know. 39 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: Sometimes if you're sitting on the wing and looking out, 40 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:13,799 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, you can be a little distressing seeing those 41 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: things almost flapping, But they're meant to move a little. 42 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: They're supposed to do that. Yeah, so don't worry. Uh, 43 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: the wing is not going to snap off most likely. Now, 44 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: remember when we talked about cars and how it seems 45 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: like they're made terribly today because they come apart, but 46 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: they're actually designed like that to make them like easier 47 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,079 Speaker 1: to take a crash. The same thing with the plane 48 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: if they were just completely rigid and brittle, and the 49 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: wing might actually snap off. So it's supposed to flap 50 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: a little bit in turbulence. Yeah, And the other part 51 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: of that is injuries. Um, the f a A said 52 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: forty four injuries in two thousand sixteen due to turbulence 53 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: nine plus million people flying. That is not a lot 54 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: of injuries. Yeah, I think the most exceedingly rare, Like 55 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: there was thirteen and two thousand thirteen. Oddly, there was 56 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: seventeen in two thousand seventeen, and between ninth teen eighty 57 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: and two thousand eight there were only three deaths from turbulence. 58 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,519 Speaker 1: So it is very very rare. And one of the 59 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: reasons it's not way worse and it's actually getting even 60 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: better is because pilots are able to predict where the 61 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 1: turbulence is coming. Because number one, they're trained to see 62 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: signs of it. But also there are a entire network 63 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: of people on planet Earth back down on the ground 64 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: who are working to let those pilots know what places 65 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: to avoid and why. Yeah, so when they when they 66 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: go to take off, there's a few types of turbulence 67 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: to look out for. Convective that is, you know, kind 68 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: of the standard thunderstorm turbulence that you might expect. Yeah, 69 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: Like when air on the Earth surface gets warm, it 70 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: rises and it can create clouds as it carries water 71 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: vapor up and cools, and the taller the cloud, the 72 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: more turbulent there is in there, that's right. Uh. Then 73 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: there's mountain wave of turbulence, and that's when air is 74 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: just literally cresting over the top of a mountain, uh, 75 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: and wave like you would see in the ocean. Yeah, 76 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: because it's all fluid. I mean air and water they're 77 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: both fluid, you know, so of course they would break 78 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: like that. You don't want to get your little plane 79 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: caught up in a breaking air wave, no, uh. And 80 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: then finally you have the clear air turbulence, and that's 81 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: the toughest to predict because it's not like you see 82 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: a big mountain range or lightning popping off in the foreground. 83 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: That is just air colliding with warm air and cold 84 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: air colliding with one another. Yeah, so it forms jet streams, right, 85 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 1: and those those that's that can be problematic because the 86 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: the difference in um, the direction that the winds moving in, 87 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: the speed it's moving in can really wreak havoc on 88 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: your plane. And when you're cruising through a patch like 89 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: that very quickly, all of those little bumps and jostles 90 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: and turns come together to make what we think of 91 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 1: as turbulence. That's right. So that is uh, what turbulence is. 92 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: Let's take a little break here and we're gonna talk 93 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: about how these pilots can avoid it. If you want 94 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: to know, then you're in luck. Just listen up to 95 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:25,039 Speaker 1: just chuck sew shoon. So before they even take off, 96 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: they have started avoiding turbulence. When they get their flight 97 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: plan together, they don't just say, you know, we're flying 98 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: from Atlanta to l A. So let's just you know, 99 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: take a left turn after takeoff and fly west until 100 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: we get to l A. Maybe you've been taken out. Yeah, 101 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: it's a very you know, uh, it's very planned out. Uh. 102 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: And although they can't predict every bit of turbulence, they 103 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: can certainly say, well, we know there's a mountain range 104 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: here and there is a thunderstorm going on here, so 105 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 1: we're gonna set our flight plan accordingly, right exactly, so 106 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: they start off on the right foot the UM. They 107 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:04,840 Speaker 1: also have like little handy weather maps too, because storms 108 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: can develop even after you've already taken off that weren't predicted. 109 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: And they can also line up too, so you might 110 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 1: have to choose what storm you actually have to go 111 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: through if you have to write, and so they have 112 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: weather instrumentation that makes it real simple to choose. Like 113 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: a storm up ahead that's yellow says if you have 114 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: a green alternative, choose the green one. Ones that are 115 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: read it says. You're gonna have to course correct basically UM. 116 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: And when you course correct, you basically have to get 117 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: in touch with UM air traffic Control and say, hey, 118 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: I know we weren't planning on going up an extra 119 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 1: ten thou feet, but I need to fly over this 120 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:44,600 Speaker 1: turbulence for a little while, and they'll say do it. 121 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:47,840 Speaker 1: And you fly up, you go over the tribulence, you say, 122 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 1: can I come back down now? And They're like, we 123 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: we've been waiting for you to ask, buddy, come on 124 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:53,719 Speaker 1: back down, and you go back down to your original 125 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: flight plan, or you may not, or they may say, 126 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,040 Speaker 1: you know what, since you went this far out of 127 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: the way to avoid this thing, why don't you just 128 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: take this course instead, right, and you have a new 129 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: flight plan after that? Exactly. You gotta be nimble up there, 130 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: you gotta be quick, and you have your hands on 131 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 1: the sticks, right. Isn't that what they call him sticks? 132 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: I think so. I'll bet they do call him sticks. 133 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: Can you see pilot pilots calling him there? Sure, ladies 134 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: and gentlemen, got my hands on the sticks. I've never 135 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: heard that. You haven't, not from a pilot to a passenger. Okay, 136 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: but I think that doesn't leave the cockpit. You know 137 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: what happens in the cockpit talk um. So the mountain turbulence, 138 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: that is uh pretty easy to predict because mountains are there, 139 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: and if a pilot has driven, driven, have flown past 140 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 1: the Rockies or the Andies or any big mountain range, 141 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: they probably already know what's to expect there and have 142 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: routed their plane in such a way where they're not 143 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 1: going to get the worst of it. They can also 144 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: tell by the clouds that are there. There's some called 145 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: lenticular clouds, which are lens shaped, but I think it 146 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: actually kind of traces the contour of a wave. But 147 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: in cloud form you can be like, well, I've gotta 148 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 1: stay out of there because there's breaking waves of wind 149 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: right there. Yeah. So yeah, there's things they can do visually. 150 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: The problem is is the clear air turbulence. I mean 151 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: they don't call it clear air, I exactly, and I 152 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 1: mean it really is like it can be really really rough, 153 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: not just because it comes out of nowhere, but because 154 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: the differences in speed between one spot and another so 155 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: pronounced that it can really jar and jostle you. Yeah, 156 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: for those The thing, and this is kind of cool. 157 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,960 Speaker 1: The thing they count on the most, uh, is talking 158 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: to other pilots. There's a lot of planes up there, 159 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: and chances are if you're flying anywhere in the United States, 160 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,559 Speaker 1: there's another plane on more or less your route just 161 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: a few minutes ahead of you, right, And so they 162 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,319 Speaker 1: they're always in touch with one another. Uh, it's not 163 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 1: even you know, they share information. It's not like a 164 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: delta pilot won't be like, hey, the Southwest guys behind us, 165 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: but don't tell them what's so they're always warning each 166 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: other about what to expect, how bad it is, um, 167 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: whether or not you need to really alter your route 168 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: or maybe just park it at a certain altitude. Right. 169 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: And so when they get this info, they'll say, uh, 170 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen, please put your seatbelts on, get out 171 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: of the bathroom. Uh. Flight attendants put them carts up. 172 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: I think it's how they put it. That's in pilot lingo. 173 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: And that's usually when some somebody gets up, it's like, oh, 174 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,199 Speaker 1: I really need to go. That's the moment I'm like, 175 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,079 Speaker 1: I have to go to the bathroom so bad. Yeah yeah, um. 176 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 1: But if you're not getting up, and even if they 177 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: aren't telling you to um to put your seatbelt on, 178 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: if you're just sitting in your seat, you should always 179 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: keep your seatbelt on, just because there is such thing 180 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:52,439 Speaker 1: as clearer. Turbulent catches everybody by surprise, and then all 181 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: of a sudden you're like floating up against the ceiling, 182 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: which is bad enough for you, but you can also 183 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: come down another poor unsuspecting travelers too. It's like about 184 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 1: floating people who like smashing into the ceiling for a moment. Yeah. Um, 185 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:07,959 Speaker 1: it's like people who don't wear the seatbelt in the 186 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 1: back seat. It's like, you're not just putting your own 187 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,319 Speaker 1: life in danger when you cut it getting a head 188 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: on collision, you're flying forward past the people in the 189 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: front who did have their seatbelts on, and your feet 190 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,680 Speaker 1: and your fists in your head are taking their heads 191 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: off with you. Yeah, you know what I mean. You 192 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 1: got to wear your seatbelt in the back seat. Check 193 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: so they get about if they're talking to other pilots 194 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: in the air, they get a five to ten minute warning. 195 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,520 Speaker 1: If they're getting a warning from the ground, that's about 196 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 1: twenty minutes up to twenty minutes. So that's that's plenty 197 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: of time. That's why that's why it works so well. 198 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: That's why you don't get more severe cases of turbulence 199 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: because everyone's in contact at all times, making sure that 200 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: you don't feel the worst of it, which is great. 201 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: They also figured out that you can't put two planes 202 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 1: too close together because planes create weake and that creates turbulence, 203 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: and they you that out the hard way. Apparently planes 204 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,280 Speaker 1: have crashed from following too close coming in for a landing. 205 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,719 Speaker 1: Don't do it on the road either. No, certainly not, 206 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: although apparently it does save your gas mileage. Yeah, behind 207 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: like a semi or something. Yeah, I mean that's why 208 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: they do it in NASCAR, right, But it's not safe. No, don't, 209 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 1: don't do it. You're no NASCAR driver unless you are 210 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: a NASCAR driver listening to this, in which case you 211 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: do what you're doing. Well. Thanks for joining us on 212 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: short Stuff. We love you.