 Image Courtesy: Airbus DISCUSSION: Often many do not see the connection between aviation and meteorology, there can be a basic assumption that aircraft can withstand a wide variety of weather phenomena, which is often true but some are lacking in overall capability. In addition to specialized instruments needed for aircraft, basic meteorology is on the forefront of a major phenomena that most airline passengers typically ask meteorologists about, turbulence.
According to the American Meteorological Society, aircraft turbulence is, “ irregular motion of an aircraft in flight, especially when characterized by rapid up-and-down motion, caused by a rapid variation of atmospheric wind velocities.” Which, “this can occur in cloudy areas (particularly towering cumulus and lenticular clouds) and in clear air. Turbulence is the leading cause of nonfatal passenger and flight attendant injuries. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) classifies aircraft turbulence as follows:
While there are a variety of aircraft that do not have operational limitations, some aircraft such as the Canadair (CRJ) 200 or Embraer (ERJ) 140/45, often must remain grounded (until weather should pass) due to lack of ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) (CRJ 200), and weight and balance issues. Aircraft and its flight are also limited to the use of visual flight rules (VFR) or instrument flight rules (IFR) based on aircraft and pilot ratings. Turbulence is by far one of the most noticeable connections between aviation and meteorology, of course behind the use of air as a fluid, the forces of flight and Bernoulli’s Principle. As we investigate turbulence, we can often just deduce that turbulence is the flow of atmospheric winds due to the rising and sinking of air in the atmosphere. Should we further explore wind in turbulent flow we can consider that all turbulence is, is atmospheric motion, and as height increased, pressure typically decreases, with wind increasing, creating various components of vertical motion going on while moving horizontally in the atmosphere within an aircraft. Airbus has created the A220-100, built as the smallest jetliner in the Airbus family, designed to serve the 100-135 seat market, in addition to the A220-300 to serve the 130-160 market. These new aircraft are attempting to put down the days of the MD-80, and B717 while providing an economical and efficient aircraft, compared to previous iterations. What is of note is its turbulence avoidance technology which according to CBS News, “shows pilots where the smooth air is by crowdsourcing data from all of Delta's aircraft.” Pilots are hailing this new technology, rather than attempting to maneuver the aircraft to find it, it can be found on the instrument panel. In addition to this valuable technology the aircraft was designed for hot, and high, city-like environments, an ideal aircraft for places like Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport where extreme temperatures often limit aircraft arrivals and departures in the summer months. For further information on aviation and weather visit the Global Weather and Climate Center! © 2019 Meteorologist Jessica Olsen Resources: “A220-100.” Airbus, Airbus, www.airbus.com/aircraft/passenger-aircraft/a220-family/a220-100.html. Van Cleave, Kris. “Delta's New Airbus A220 Features Wider Coach Seats and Turbulence Avoidance Technology.” CBS News, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2018, www.cbsnews.com/news/new-delta-airbus-a220-features-wider-coach-seats-turbulence-avoidance-tech/.
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 DISCUSSION: As more and more people find various needs to travel via commercial aviation from around the globe, there is an increased demand for there to be more and more flights offered to various destinations around the world. There is no question that this increased flight demand puts substantial strain on Earth-bound fossil fuel resources which are continuing to be depleted at a greater and greater rate with every passing day, month, and year. Having said that, in a modern era which we are living in where we have direct access to cutting-edge fuel-based technologies, there is much more that mankind can still do to offset the tremendous environmental impacts which are imposed by global commercial and private aviation. For starters, several airplane manufacturing companies have already begun in earnest with the development of new and innovative aircraft and aircraft engine designs to greatly improve the overall fuel efficiency of various aircraft types.
However, even with the reduction of the impact of commercial and private global aviation flight demands in terms of the net fuel consumption issues, there is still more which can and is starting to be done behind the scenes. For example, as the story attached in the link below reflects, there are several different ways in which global aviation companies and component developers thereof can make further progress in how aviation can evolve as we continue moving further into the 21st century. In light of large amounts of scientists also traveling to global science research conferences around the world on a yearly basis such as the American Meteorological Society's 99th Annual Meeting being held in Phoenix, Arizona here in the 1st to 2nd week of January here in 2019, this is most certainly a relevant and a hot-button topic without question. Whether it is developing solar cell-based technologies or water and hydrogen-based fuel technologies, there is a tremendous amount of current and future versatility which will be possible for the continued improvement of mitigating environmental impacts of air travel. Having said that, it is still important to point out the fact that the best way to limit any individual impact to Earth’s global carbon footprint is to limit the amount of flying which is done. When you can, try to utilize other means of travel which have somewhat less of a net carbon impact on planet Earth which is also referenced in a bit greater detail in the article attached below. Having said that, the development of more modern aircraft such as the Airbus A350-900 and newer versions of the Airbus A-330 are most certainly a step in the right direction. To learn more about this particular article which was courtesy of dw.com, click here! To learn more about other neat aviation topics from around the world, click here! © 2019 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz  DISCUSSION: Around the world every day, there are major issues when it comes to airports and private and/or commercial aircraft dealing with various types of fog. First and foremost, the more common types of fog which include ground fog and advection fog, will often create substantially reduced visibilities in and around area airports during such circumstances. Reduced visibilities are a major hazard to approaching and departing aircraft since such conditions can make simple aircraft functionality a very dangerous precedent. More specifically, when it comes to flying through or around fog banks early in the morning or at night, there can often be points at which the fog is present at variable concentrations from top to bottom. For that reason, the idea of flying through a fog bank can be even more concerning since the unpredictable variability of a fog bank’s thickness can lead to a pilot or set of pilots being unable to see the runway.
Even with state-of-the-art technologies built into modern aircraft and various tools which allow pilots to more easily handle flying through various types of inclement weather, deep fog can still be especially dangerous to any type of private or commercial aircraft. Therefore, any time that pilots are confronted with situations which involve deep fog banks and must abort an approach and landing at a given airport, do not get frustrated with your pilots since there is a good chance that they had a very legitimate reason for aborting the landing and making another approach from a different direction. Another issue tied to the presence of fog and corresponding flight delays is very much like the issues faced by airports with any other type of inclement weather situation. That is, the reality that any situations involving persistent fog will often lead to scenarios where there are corresponding flight delays. Thus, a deep, persistent fog bank can create substantial regional, national, or possibly even global flight delay issues for some period as a result of passengers not being able to make subsequent flights and planes being forced to wait for the arrival of large numbers of passengers from delayed flights. Thus, this just goes to show that there is always a corresponding impact which can be observed in a statistical manner with respect to flight delays from regional fog events. To learn more about other global aviation topics, be sure to click here! © 2019 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz  DISCUSSION: Every day around the world, millions and millions of people travel via private and/or commercial aircraft to get to various places they need to travel to for business or leisure. Thus, it goes without saying that the international aviation network is a complex organism which needs near-constant attention from global air traffic control networks. Whenever there are “disturbances” which impact any part of the global aviation network, there are always consequential “ripples” in the timing of departing and arriving aircraft and corresponding connecting flights. One such example of this issue has to do with the impact that sandstorms have on private and commercial aviation.
To elaborate on this issue, whenever airports across the Southwest United States, the Middle East, and other places around the world are impacted by sandstorms which are induced by stronger winds which push across desert or desert-like regions, there are some major issues which arise. First off, whenever sandstorms impact airports, there is a substantial impact on local and potentially regional visibility extent. For this reason, this makes the paths for departing and arriving aircraft much more dangerous since pilots of any aircraft will not be able to see critical airports markers and lights as they attempt to taxi to the runway or approaching the start of the runway. Another issue when it comes to taking off or landing on a given runway within a progressing sandstorm is the fact that sandstorm will often bring with them very unpredictable wind flow patterns. Thus, the corresponding erratic wind speeds and directions within a given sandstorm has the potential to create incredibly hazardous cross-winds which can make the dangerous unpredictable wind flow regimes as well as the greatly reduced visibilities a seriously life-threatening situation when it comes to general aviation interests. One of the other primary issues which can sometimes arise when it comes to sandstorm impacts on aviation is the inherent associated with damage to aircraft and aircraft engines. When sandstorms impact various sized aircraft either on the ground or even more so in the air, the high speed of the aircraft combined with the effective “pelting” of the sand particles on the fuselage, the wings, or even the engines of the aircraft can have a substantial impact on the physical integrity of the engine components which help to power major parts and functions of any aircraft. Depending on how the size of the sand particles are distributed within a given sandstorm, the fan blades of many turbofan engines can often be damaged by ingesting too much sand within a given sandstorm event. Thus, it goes without saying that sandstorms can have profound impacts on general aviation safety. To learn more about other global aviation topics, be sure to click here! © 2019 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz |
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