Reminds me of Billy Bob Thornton in Pushing Tin, when he intentionally goes to stand in the path of a wing-tip vortex to directly experience the raw power of it! :-D
Those vortices are the reason why small aircraft are pretty much banned from airports with lots of heavy traffic. Given a proper crosswind, such a vortex can stand still for several minutes in the center of the runway, ready to flip over any light plane who would dare approach. Ouch!
A very beautiful visualization of the phenomenon, indeed.
*Minutes*?? I'll be frigged and fried. That's weird.
According to regulations, anyway. I don't know what the current rules are, but there is a definite delay that must be observed between the landing of a heavy carrier and that of a smaller aircraft, in the order of 5 minutes, IIRC.
Small private planes such as a Cessna 172 are very lightweight to begin with, and it is the very nature of their wings to get caught in any air motion...
Makes me think of "the parting of the Red Sea".
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Billy Bob Thornton in Pushing Tin, when he intentionally goes to stand in the path of a wing-tip vortex to directly experience the raw power of it! :-D
ReplyDeleteThose vortices are the reason why small aircraft are pretty much banned from airports with lots of heavy traffic. Given a proper crosswind, such a vortex can stand still for several minutes in the center of the runway, ready to flip over any light plane who would dare approach. Ouch!
A very beautiful visualization of the phenomenon, indeed.
Yes, isn't it gorgeous?
ReplyDelete*Minutes*?? I'll be frigged and fried. That's weird.
*Minutes*?? I'll be frigged and fried. That's weird.
ReplyDeleteAccording to regulations, anyway. I don't know what the current rules are, but there is a definite delay that must be observed between the landing of a heavy carrier and that of a smaller aircraft, in the order of 5 minutes, IIRC.
Small private planes such as a Cessna 172 are very lightweight to begin with, and it is the very nature of their wings to get caught in any air motion...
Yeah, but check out this beautiful clip of airline porn. A Lufthansa A380 landing in Frisco.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgsdDL2k_Fw