Don't let anxiety over turbulence ruin your next flight. Having a clear understanding of turbulence will overcome your fears. It's amazing when I travel in coach class how often I see people freak out when theres' a little ruffle of turbulence in the air. I notice everything from passengers praying,to the famous death grip of their family members hands. Sometimes I see people take a double shot of rum. I think having a clear understanding of what causes turbulence is the best thing to help you overcome anxiety of turbulence the next time you fly.

What's important to know is that turbulence may make you feel uneasy,but it has never caused an airplane to crash. However,there is one minor exception that I will discuss later. All airplanes are build to withstand a lot of air pressure, & structural stress. The wings are made to take an incredible amount of flexing & bending in which turbulence can't replicate. There are five reasons for turbulence. In general,the most common type of turbulence occurs when the suns' radiation heats the earths' surface. This turbulence is called convective.

                              Turbulent cimulonimbus clouds  

This heated surface creates updrafts that create convective currents. These currents ascend up,& descend down so that when an aircraft is flying through it,you get constant bumps. This is the most common type of turbulence, and you could usually predict it by the puffy shape white clouds associated with it called cumulus clouds. Another type of turbulence comes from obstructions near the airport.

Obstructions near an airport like rough terrain,or buildings disrupt smooth wind flow into disruptive patterns. You will usually feel this type when when taking off,or landing. One example of an airport that suffers from this type of turbulence is Las Vegas McCarran Airport. There are mountains surrounding this airport, but also a series of large casinos in close proximity of the airport.                 

Turbulence from thunderstorms is another type of turbulence that occurs because of unstable air around thunderstorms. Thunderstorms create tremendous updrafts & down drafts. This type of turbulence is easy to see because its on weather radar & pilots could fly around it,or over it. Another common type of turbulence is called wake. This is the only turbulence that has caused an airplane to crash & is that one rare exception. But this is not turbulence in the traditional sense.

<-example of wake turbulence

This is restricted to around the vicinity of the airport. This occurs when one airplane gets to close to another while landing,or taking off. Its very similar to tail-gating a vehicle on the highway. If you tail-gate enough on the highway, sooner,or later your going to get involved into a car wreck. Its not a major safety issue as long as you maintain a healthy separation between the aircraft in front of you. The final type of turbulence is called clear air turbulence. This is the most serious type of turbulence because its unpredictable.

Sometimes the only warning you may have from this type of turbulence is from the aircraft in front of you. When clear air turbulence happens it can cause serious injury if you don't have your seatbelt on,or if you happen to be standing when it happens. It's important to know that there are a few things you could do to minimize turbulence & relieve your anxiety. One thing you could do is book your next flight early in the morning or late evening. This will reduce the most common type of turbulence called convective because the suns' radiation is reduced.Another tip to avoid turbulence & reduce your anxiety is to find out what aircraft you will most likely be flying before you book your flight.

The older airplanes such as the B-727, B737, MD-80s' are altitude limited based upon their weight & engine performance. For example, the MD-80 is limited to an altitude of 37,000 feet,and that's only if it's not too heavy with passengers & fuel. However,the more modern & newer aircraft like the Airbus-320,319, B757,B767s' could climb through 39,000 feet to 41,000 feet. The significance of this is that they have more options to climb out of turbulent altitude layers into more smoother air. The older aircraft that's altitude limited must stay at that turbulent layer into they burn off enough fuel to climb to a higher altitude. Follow these tips on your next flight to see if it works for you.