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Do pilots try to avoid clouds?

Mammatus clouds Airline pilots will normally take action to avoid any cumulonimbus clouds, but particularly those bearing mammatus formations, as these indicate especially severe turbulence within the cumulonimbus.



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Numerous accidents have occurred in the vicinity of thunderstorms due to the density of clouds. It is often said that the turbulence can be extreme enough inside a cumulonimbus to tear an aircraft into pieces, and even strong enough to hold a skydiver.

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Mammatus clouds Airline pilots will normally take action to avoid any cumulonimbus clouds, but particularly those bearing mammatus formations, as these indicate especially severe turbulence within the cumulonimbus.

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Turbulence and Flight Safety When an airplane passes through clouds, it encounters water droplets that can result in turbulence. However, air traffic control and pilots are well aware of such flying conditions and take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of aircraft and passengers.

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Modern airliners and pilots can fly through clouds, no problem. But before there were instruments and trained pilots, planes would fly into clouds and within a minute come out of the clouds, going straight down And usually crashing.

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Whether flying at night or during the day, pilots need to see some kind of horizon. They use this to determine the airplane's attitude. At night pilots will turn their gaze from outside to inside and use the artificial horizon. The artificial horizon is normally a simply globe split into two hemispheres.

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While pilots can't actually see turbulence, they often know what is coming up, thanks to reports from other planes, weather reports, and radar equipment. However, clear air turbulence (severe turbulence occurring in cloudless areas) can sometimes catch pilots off guard.

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This air should contain more mass per unit volume (that is, higher density fluid). This changes the amount of lift experienced as the plane passes through it. This would produce sudden changes in the amount of lift, causing shaking when entering or exiting the clouds.

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Pilots should observe the following rules for any flight routed even potentially near actual or possible thunder- storm activity: Avoid all thunderstorms. Never go closer than 5 miles to any visible storm cloud with overhanging areas, and strongly consider increas- ing that distance to 20 miles or more.

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Turbulence is unavoidable. It's experienced on almost every flight to some degree (usually light). Just remember that modern aircraft are put through extreme testing that puts the aircraft to its limits in conditions far worse than any turbulence could produce.

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“The first step in avoiding an encounter with clouds at night is a good weather briefing. This weather briefing will give you an idea of where the cloud layers are expected. However, don't expect these forecasts to be precise because they are simply that: forecasts.

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These cloud-borne updrafts and downdrafts result in rapid and unpredictable changes to the lift force on the wings of an aircraft. More or less lift and the difference between these changes is what causes the aircraft to lurch and jump about during flight, or turbulence as it is called within the industry.

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Flying blind is easy. Fog on the ground is another matter. Not being able to see where you're flying is – believe it or not – perfectly safe. Aircraft have radars to 'see', while movements are digitally monitored by air traffic controllers to keep aircraft at a safe height and distance from each other.

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If any problems occur with the engine or wings, the crew can see it out of those tiny round windows in a cabin. If the aircraft needs to be evacuated, passengers and the whole crew is able to see which side of the aircraft is safer for evacuation.

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The anemometer, the instrument for measuring speed in aeroplanes. Pilots have to promptly know the speed at which they are moving in the mass of air that surrounds the aeroplane and the anemometer is responsible for measuring it. The anemometer, as it is known today, was designed in 1926 by John Patterson.

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On the canopy's frame are located three adjustable mirrors (like the one on the windshield of a car) the pilot can use to see what's happening behind him.

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A lot of airports have restrictions on night flights because of noise issues. Also some smaller domestic airports close at night. There are a few that leave late at night in order to take advantage of the time difference in the arrival city. There aren't more because there isn't much demand for them.

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Under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), a pilot typically has to rely on visual identification of other traffic himself/herself. Optionally a VFR pilot can request radar flight-following services and get traffic advisories but ATC is not required to provide that service if they're too busy.

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