Severe Turbulence

oldman

oldman

Well-known Member
Location
PA
I flew the corporate jet yesterday from Dallas to Philadelphia. Due to the amount of unsettled weather through the plains states and the eastern seaboard, not to mention crossing the jet stream, I flew through some of the worse turbulence that I have ever encountered and being in a small plane, we were really bounced around. Two of my four passengers became nautiously ill and the plane was also rocking relentlessly.

Taking all of this into account, I decided to make an unscheduled landing in Columbus to give my passengers a break, but mostly, I wanted to take a look at the plane from the outside. Fortunately, the mechanic and I determined that we had no structural damage.

It was severe, but we all survived the experience. I had tried several different flight levels trying to find some smooth air and even the big planes were reporting rough air. It was just "one of those days."
 

oldman said:
I flew the corporate jet yesterday from Dallas to Philadelphia. Due to the amount of unsettled weather through the plains states and the eastern seaboard, not to mention crossing the jet stream, I flew through some of the worse turbulence that I have ever encountered and being in a small plane, we were really bounced around. Two of my four passengers became nautiously ill and the plane was also rocking relentlessly.

Taking all of this into account, I decided to make an unscheduled landing in Columbus to give my passengers a break, but mostly, I wanted to take a look at the plane from the outside. Fortunately, the mechanic and I determined that we had no structural damage.

It was severe, but we all survived the experience. I had tried several different flight levels trying to find some smooth air and even the big planes were reporting rough air. It was just "one of those days."
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Oldman, glad to hear that you're safe after all that. It must have been very nerve-wracking for you and the passengers. You were wise to make that unscheduled landing to check the plane. Good that your 'one of those days' ended on a positive note. :love_heart:
 

The plane is a Gulfstream 550 and was put in service in 2010 by the leasing company that I fly for. I had only four passengers on-board and also agreed to carry 300 pounds of mail. The man that I call the "Boss" is a vice president of a very large Fortune 500 company located here in my home town. That poor man was sick as a dog for a few hours. They actually took him to a nearby hospital in Columbus where they gave him some medication that they give pregnant women for morning sickness. We had given him some Dramamine on-board, but he wasn't able to keep it down. I told him before the flight that we were expecting some pretty rough turbulence, although I did not know it was going to be as bad as it was, and he should not be drinking alcohol. But, he is stubborn and didn't listen. Here is a picture of a similar plane that I found on Google. I will post one later of the actual plane when I remember to take my camera when I fly again.

GS 550.jpg GS 550 Interior.jpg GS 550 Avionics.jpg
 
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Conversely, we flew Friday, 4/29, from Harrisburg, PA to Tampa, FL and returned late last evening. Again, bad weather on the east coast, but you would never have known it. The air was smooth, except over Georgia while we were coming home and coming down through the clouds last night. It was very warm in Tampa. I believe about 88 degrees.
 
I flew once in a single engine prop Navion one night and we got into some weather over Ohio. It seemed like that little plane was all over the sky. I had such a grip on the armrests that I thought I would crush them. We got through it and it smoothed out. I flew in that same plane before and after that and everything was fine. That was around 1970.
 
The first plane that I ever flew at flight school and took my solo in was a Cessna 150. It is a small, lightweight, single engine plane, or what I called a "suicide box." I never felt safe or comfortable in those types of planes. I live by one rule; if it doesn't have at least two engines, I am not getting in it.
 
oldman said:
The first plane that I ever flew at flight school and took my solo in was a Cessna 150. It is a small, lightweight, single engine plane, or what I called a "suicide box." I never felt safe or comfortable in those types of planes. I live by one rule; if it doesn't have at least two engines, I am not getting in it.
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In the early 1950's my dad and his brother had a Piper Veronica. They were both in the local CAP. I remember being up in that plan as a child. Sadly, he (Dad) was killed in a small plane crash in 1954 but it was not the Piper. It was some WW2 trainer that I think. I was only 8 at the time, so the details are a little fuzzy.

btw, Did you use Don Scott in Columbus? I hear it's getting a major make-over/
 
Hoot N Annie said:
In the early 1950's my dad and his brother had a Piper Veronica. They were both in the local CAP. I remember being up in that plan as a child. Sadly, he (Dad) was killed in a small plane crash in 1954 but it was not the Piper. It was some WW2 trainer that I think. I was only 8 at the time, so the details are a little fuzzy.

btw, Did you use Don Scott in Columbus? I hear it's getting a major make-over/
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Sorry to hear about your dad. Dying in a plane crash is something that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

No, I never flew into Don Scott Field. I flew a Boeing 767, so we need a lot of asphalt for takeoff and landings, especially when the plane is maxed out with weight. I can only remember flying into international airports. When I started my flying career, I flew for Air Wisconsin and at that time, I did fly into some of the smaller airports with shorter runways. I have never heard of the Veronica.
 
I found out a few weeks ago that we will be getting a new plane in a few months. I am supposed to go to the manufacturer's training program to lean the avionics using the simulator and then come home and train two other Captains. I am soon going to have to retire completely under FAA rules, so this will be my last big adventure in flying. I am excited about this opportunity and really looking forward to it. It will be a good way to go out.
 
Back in the '70s our jump plane was a 172 Skyhawk. A friend had a Piper J3 Cub. I always wanted one of these for a club jump plane:

images


Maybe I'll get one if and when I move to Canada!

images
 
oldman said:
I found out a few weeks ago that we will be getting a new plane in a few months. I am supposed to go to the manufacturer's training program to lean the avionics using the simulator and then come home and train two other Captains. I am soon going to have to retire completely under FAA rules, so this will be my last big adventure in flying. I am excited about this opportunity and really looking forward to it. It will be a good way to go out.
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Oldman, I can tell you really love flying and your job. Will you miss it terribly when you retire?

I miss the work I did, but not the job. My last job was a very difficult work environment and very high stress. But I DO miss the work itself.
 
Butterfly said:
Oldman, I can tell you really love flying and your job. Will you miss it terribly when you retire?

I miss the work I did, but not the job. My last job was a very difficult work environment and very high stress. But I DO miss the work itself.
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I know that most everyone has heard the cliche, "My work was my passion," but yes, I felt the same way. Every flight had its challenges from weather, maintenance, turbulence from unsettled air, baggage and freight issues, getting fuel, and so many more. Every day was different and so was every flight. I met so many interesting people and just had fun doing what I loved. Yes, there is a lot of stress with being responsible for a $200,000,000.00 aircraft and about 300 passengers and getting people to where they are going on time to meet other people or making connections, but it was all in a day's work.

Normally, I would fly non stop coast to coast with maybe a second leg thrown in on some days. There were days when I would go to work and not know if I would be home that night or be laid up overnight in a different city. On some days, the connections would just go haywire and you never knew what the heck was going on. If we would be flying to Dallas or Miami, especially in the spring and summer, there may be some terrific storms and we would need to divert. That throws the whole schedule out of whack. Then again, there were times when we would be 2 hours behind due to a multitude of reasons, (mostly either weather or maintenance), and maybe not get to fly our second leg, if we were scheduled.

There is nothing more beautiful than flying out of San Francisco at 6:00 a.m. and heading for Washington, D.C. Using runway 28L, we would takeoff over the bay and into the rising sun. You just knew that it was going to be a great day.
 
Flew down here to Tampa on Friday night. We will be here until Wednesday. The flight was really smooth, except for about a 50 mile patch through Georgia. Flying from here to Tennessee on Wednesday and then back home on Saturday. This job is fun.
 
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