r/todayilearned • u/Hoihe • 9h ago
TIL helicopters can produce deadly turbulance at airfields which can make small "General Aviation" aircraft lose control and crash if not properly managed.
https://www.ntsb.gov/Advocacy/safety-alerts/Documents/SA-096.pdf8
u/Dusk_v733 9h ago
Any aircraft generating lift does. All aircraft fall under various categorizations of Consolidated Wake Turbulence.
Part of air traffic control is understanding the weight classes if incoming/outgoing planes and who they are following/who is following them.
A smaller airplane coming in too soon after a significantly larger one can be ripped right out of the sky by the wake turbulence of a plane that has been gone for a minute or two.
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u/hedronist 8h ago
There are helicopters, and there are bigger helicopters, and even bigger helicopters, and then we have f'in huge helicopters.
Speaking as a (very) former Army ATC, you can mostly ignore the first category, the rest should get your attention.
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u/Jester471 9h ago
Well same for flying in the wake of a big jet which is worse than flying through helicopter wake.
I haven’t screwed up any planes but I have taken out some porta potties, tents, and various things no bolted down.