Wingtip Vortices

They’re present whenever a wing generates lift. As with real estate, the keys to avoidance are location, location, location.

Jim Wolper

Saturday, July 06, 2024 at 08:26 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Omar Filipovic

Key Takeaways:

Wingtip vortices are a hazardous, often invisible, form of wake turbulence generated by all aircraft producing lift, with the strongest effects occurring from heavy, clean, and slow aircraft (e.g., during takeoff and landing phases).
These vortices sink and spread, are influenced by wind, and can cause severe aircraft upsets, requiring pilots to actively anticipate and avoid them.
Pilots must employ specific avoidance strategies, such as adjusting takeoff and landing points relative to preceding aircraft, as realistic training is limited and ultimate responsibility for avoiding these hazards rests with them, despite ATC warnings.

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When people want to talk about something unpleasant, they often invent nicer-sounding phrases to disguise what’s really going on. “Wake turbulence” is the kind of term that can bring to mind vague, unpleasant imagery. “Wingtip vortices” sounds nicer—more refined, perhaps—but actually may be more frightening.

The FAA’s definition in its Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK, FAA-H-8083-25C) doesn’t help much: “The rapidly rotating air that spills over an airplane’s wings during flight. The intensity of the turbulence depends on the airplane’s weight, speed, and configuration. Also referred to as wake turbulence. Vortices from heavy aircraft may be extremely hazardous to small aircraft.”