NDiesel From United States of America, joined Mar 2011, 43 posts, RR: 0 Posted (5 months 2 weeks 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 1785 times:
Hi fellow travellers,
Some time ago I posted a thread named The Fear of Turbulence, and thank you for your amazing and extensive feedback. Your experiences were a treat to read. I'm glad to tell you that I'm finally flying happily again, having successfully completed my 8th intercontinental flight of this year.
Landing at LAX recently after a lovely flight from LHR on the amazing BA 744, I began wondering if any of you who have flown the 788 can confirm (or deny) whether or not the design of the wings dampen the effect of turbulence like Boeing claims, or whether the plane feels like any other widebody jet flying through rough weather? Although cured of my flying fears, I still heavily dislike turbulence. Would the 787 be a good choice for someone like me?
Thoughts?
(Proof of a now-cured, previously-nervous flyer: A great trip with SK earlier this year. I got invited to sit up front during landing at OSL. How often does that happen in the U.S.?)
Delta MD-11 JFK-CDG - Upon sunrise I fell in love with Aviation
alphaomega From United States of America, joined Aug 2005, 532 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (5 months 2 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 1533 times:
There is no way to say 1 aircraft will dampen turbulence more than another - all aircraft are subject to the same conditions and generally the larger the aircraft, the less of an effect (such as a Cessna 172 vs a Boeing 747 through the same airspace) but there would never be a way to prove Boeing's claim.
Quoting NDiesel (Thread starter): (Proof of a now-cured, previously-nervous flyer: A great trip with SK earlier this year. I got invited to sit up front during landing at OSL. How often does that happen in the U.S.?)
Interesting...unless you're a direct air carrier employee, receive written permission from the flight ops department of an air carrier, an FAA inspector, ATC controller, pilot, or any other person on a very short list, this doesn't happen in the US. Lucky you! It probably really helped your fear of flying/turbulence getting to see what happens in the flight deck during flight.
tdscanuck From Canada, joined Jan 2006, 12709 posts, RR: 80 Reply 2, posted (5 months 2 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 1204 times:
Quoting NDiesel (Thread starter): I began wondering if any of you who have flown the 788 can confirm (or deny) whether or not the design of the wings dampen the effect of turbulence like Boeing claims
I'm not aware of any Boeing claim that it's the wing design that dampens turbulence. There is a vertical gust suppression system on the 787 that dampens turbulence through the flight controls. Here's an old, but still good, article about it: http://www.seattlepi.com/business/ar...technology-gives-787-a-1238203.php
Quoting NDiesel (Thread starter): or whether the plane feels like any other widebody jet flying through rough weather?
I've flown the 787 in a wide variety of conditions and it felt smooth...but there's a major caveat to that. I have no idea what it would have felt like on a different aircraft. The variance in turbulence from point to point and day to day is far wider than turbulence handling capability of various airliners. So I have no idea if I was flying in heavy turbulence and the 787 was working furiously to damp it out, or if I was just flying in light turbulence.
One thing I've noticed is that, if you're on a 787 in turbulence, the flight controls are wiggling like crazy, far faster than any pilot would move them, so the flight control system was obviously doing something with great enthusiasm.
Quoting NDiesel (Thread starter): Although cured of my flying fears, I still heavily dislike turbulence. Would the 787 be a good choice for someone like me?
I'm not sure. I think having the big windows would help you more than anything else, honestly.
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From United States of America, joined Mar 2011, 43 posts, 
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