As an aeronautical engineer, I knew the theoretical stuff about flying. But as a student pilot, I found that theory and practice need some correlation to have real meaning. For example, I knew about sailplanes using updrafts associated with cumulus clouds to gain altitude. But I hadnt correlated that knowledge to the real world. 288
Bumming A Lift
As an aeronautical engineer, I knew the theoretical stuff about flying. But as a student pilot, I found that theory and practice need some correlation to have real meaning. For example, I knew about sailplanes using updrafts associated with cumulus clouds to gain altitude. But I hadnt correlated that knowledge to the real world.
Key Takeaways:
- An aeronautical engineer initially attempted to save fuel by utilizing updrafts under fair-weather cumulus clouds but found the method inefficient due to circling and headwinds.
- Later, while flying near a large cumulonimbus (thunderstorm) cloud, the pilot encountered an extremely powerful and dangerous updraft that abruptly lifted the aircraft and caused a sudden, violent bank.
- This experience provided a stark practical lesson on the critical difference in forces and hazards between benign fair-weather clouds and dangerous storm clouds.
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