Can turbulence fear be overcome with more flying?

[RUNNINHORN]

I absolutely love to fly, its something I day dream about all day, and love it when I finally get up there. But ive got one fear that I formed when I first started training in a 152 last year with my old instructor. He tried to "scare" me my 2nd time up. He basically tried to show off one day when we had some serious turbulence, lost control for a few secs, then he regained control. Basically scared the hell out of me, and ever since, I get the jitters when we hit some significant turbulence in these small planes.

Do you think that can be overcome the more I fly? Or is that something that cant be overcome?

 

[Medicryan]

Of course you will get over it the more you fly. There is always a chance that something could happen up there, but the more you fly the more you realize that the likely-hood of something significant happening is not going to come from turbulance. After a while, it becomes fun until you get into IMC and actually have to work. Then it just sucks.

 

[Junkflyer]

Keep flying you'll get over it. Sounds like a real idiot you had for an instructor. Don't ever settle for a stupid flight instructor.

 

[Resocha]

Also, a strong education of understanding the reasons why turbulence happens, and when it happens, can also help ease fears.

 

[ePilot22]

Do you think that can be overcome the more I fly?

In one word...YES! Stick with it. TX sucks, but eventually you'll get use to it. You might not even notice the light stuff anymore, and moderate may just become annoying to you. Stay away from the severe! There's no cure for that in a GA airplane.

Keep flying you'll get over it. Sounds like a real idiot you had for an instructor. Don't ever settle for a stupid flight instructor.

Yep, I'd have to agree too.

Just remember to slow to Va and maybe even a few knots slower. It's kind of like a washboard road, the faster you drive over it, the worse it gets. The slower you go, the smoother the ride. I know it's hard to believe and when you're in turbulence you just want to get through it quickly, but slow down and it becomes less violent.

EDIT: Resocha and I were posting at the same time, but an understanding of turbulence makes a world of difference.

Keep on flying...


eP.

 

[RUNNINHORN]

Also, a strong education of understanding the reasons why turbulence happens, and when it happens, can also help ease fears.

if you dont mind me asking, why does it happen? I flew back on Southwest last night, taking off we had some serious turbulence out of dallas, felt like the plane was moving sideways, plane was all over the place as we were climbing......

 

[RichardRambone]

I used to be a little freaked out by turbulence and I would hold the panel with my right hand to steady myself when I hit the bumps. Now after some more experience dealing with moderate to worse turbulence and such I can just sit there, cross my arms and ride em out with no worries. The more you fly the less you worry about it and eventually it can be fun, if it isn't beating the hell outta ya.

 

[USMCmech]

Iwhen I first started training in a 152 last year with my old instructor. He tried to "scare" me my 2nd time up. He basically tried to show off one day when we had some serious turbulence, lost control for a few secs, then he regained control. Basically scared the hell out of me, and ever since, I get the jitters when we hit some significant turbulence in these small planes.

First off, FIND A NEW CFI!!!!

Any CFI who tries to show off and "scare" a student isn't worth a dime. If you are scared you can not learn anything. Nor should you ever tolerate a CFI yelling at you, it's not acceptable.

Find a new CFI who will be patient with you and allow you to relax in the plane. Turbulence is a fact of life, you just have to learn to "go with the flow". Once you learn to smoothly controll the plane you will get much more comfortable. This is a perfectly normal concern. Flying in Texas summers I have seen more than my share of turbulance, it makes every student nervous for the first few flights.

 

[GravityHater]

if you dont mind me asking, why does it happen?

To learn about the most common cause of turbulence in a Tx summer, go boil a pot of water on the stove. Watch how areas start to produce a line of bubbles on the bottom of the pot, bubbles which rise rapidly to the surface.
That is a lot like the atmosphere next to the sun-heated Texas hardpan in August. Boil boil boil, anywhere below 10,000' you are gonna get a butt-kicking.
Now the cause you experienced in the SW airplane might have been the recent passage of some weak cold fronts they have experienced. And there are other reasons for turbulence.

I used to puke in light airplanes when I was learning. I know an F15 pilot who used to puke into his shirt and lie about it in order to continue his training and not get disqualified. We both got over it with a lot of hours, especially hours in the left seat, with cold air blowing on us. So fear not, you can overcome this!

 

[Resocha]

if you dont mind me asking, why does it happen? I flew back on Southwest last night, taking off we had some serious turbulence out of dallas, felt like the plane was moving sideways, plane was all over the place as we were climbing......

Turbulence is simply caused by air masses moving in relatively different directions or different speeds. Imagine moving along in a "current" of air and encountering another "current" moving at a 90 degree angle from below. The boiling water example above is a good example. Also, have you ever been on a very fast boat? When the water is smooth, the boat just zooms along, but when the water is choppy, the ride is very rough. It's nearly the same for airplanes, but you often can't see the bumps coming.

Though turbulence is a simple concept to understand, its causes can require a doctoral dissertation, and includes everything from thunderstorms to wake behind larger aircraft.

Keep on flying, my friend. Turbulence is just bumps in the highway.