I love how joe says "you as a pilot", sitting here watching your videos while I should do my studies for my architecture exam.

Who knows, you ccould be designing an airport

I'm a programmer, but I'm curious about aviation.

I am confused: am I a pilot or an architect?!

@Kejia Zhang What the freak?

I am an architect designing airport building here to learn about airplanes. You didn’t watch a wrong video.

I deal with wake turbulence every morning when the alarm clock sounds.

I dont want to start my engines right after i awake,

😂

🤣🤣

That's heavy

😅😂🤣

Very cool. I just thought that "heavy" meant a large, fully loaded aircraft. We live close to an airport, so there are 7-6-7's and 7-5-7's (cargo) flying over quite often. Where we live is quite quiet. So much so, that you can hear the wake turbulence wooshing around above you after the plane has passed. Really cool sound!

Great video, Captain! I like your closing line: "a good pilot is always learning". I think that applies to all professions.

A good hangman is always learning!

and?

@thebeaz1 You're welcome, just let me know when you need more

Thank you for that blinding brilliance.

Always wondered about the "heavy ", thank you for taking the time.

all 3 seconds........

I've been getting into listening to ATC recordings recently, and was intrigued by the Antonov AN-225 and the Super on its callsign. Not to mention the bustle of the airport services running around picking up the chunks it tore out of various places on takeoff and landing.

The amount of information pilots, and especially traffic controllers, deal with at any given moment of time is hard to believe. Props to the super multi-taskers!!!

Wingtip vertices also reduce fuel efficiency, which is precisely why many aircraft have winglets on the tips of their wings to decrease these vertices.

vortices

“Anytime you learn something your mind expands” Thank you for the very informative video!

...I think that's meningitis.

I'm really surprised by the way it works and never imagined many airplanes are landing one after one like this .. I thought there's such a large period of time between two flights and that's so great

Your vids are awesome, they explain different aspects about flying that I’ve always wondered about in a manner that a non-pilot understand. Thank you!

Have watched so many Aviation videos but did wonder about the "heavy" added onto some calls. Thank you so very much for this explanation! Made perfect sense and answered other questions I had as well! Most informative for this interested layman!

We all miss the Concord, Captain. Even people born after it was decommissioned probably miss it!

I was born after

I loved being in Northern Virginia when the Concorde took off

I miss it more than anyone on the planet Earth.....

I miss it

@thebeaz1 You are right, I guess. It's the money, not the technology. And it didn't help having the industry shut down for a year.

"Ohh no the new A380 can carry too much we need a new category for it." 40yr old Antanov - "I'm sorry, what was that?"

@alfredlikc00 European

@Jon Dickison the C5 is just a heavy, not a SUPER

@Alfredo Márquez Apologies. I must’ve been slightly drunk whilst writing that comment. Funny how we’re both responding to one year old comments.

@RМА70-24 D32 Name another just as awesome... can you?

@alfredlikc00 I wasn't talking about any Airbus, but about the great Antonov... There is no american airplane that is as large as the Antonov 225.

Hey, in Australia, gliders are always aero towed in the so called "low tow" position below the slipstream and there's a good reason for that. Joe, do you know why?

​@Tanya Wieczorek There is not so much of wake turbulence behind a small tow plane. There is a slipstream though but we fly just below it to stay in the smooth air.

How does it fly lower than the tow plane? I thought it always flies higher due to not carrying an engine plus the wake turbulence of the tow plane..

Nice explanation, It would have been nice to mention the counter measures for this, like Winglets (or any of their names). It was intended to reduce fuel consumption but it certainly reduces the vortex.

I'm an air traffic controller. I love your explanation P - Pilot C- Controller ………… P: Bombay approach, Air India 124 heavy.. C: Air India 124 heavy, Bombay approach heavy.. P: Confirm approach heavy.. C: Affirm, I'm 121 kg P: Roger (chuckling) ………… Funny chat shared by one of my instructors with a pilot during his active duty at VABB.

This is much funnier if you imagine it (or even read it out loud) in an Indian accent and throw in a couple head shakes.

But, but your name is Joshi, not roger!

@Woof Olliesmydog thank you

@Lectric Blue spot on

@Stefan I loved his way of explaining the things. I'm well aware of what he's talking about as we use the wake seperations daily during handling the traffic.

Dear Captain Joe, what an amazing educator you are. Over time, you've inspired me to pursue my pilot license... Cheers. Keep making these amazing videos. Yours, love from L.A.

That was a great video. My big question was going to be "well, why do the vortices necessarily sink?" Your second video of them made visible by smoke provided the answer. Thanks!

As a non-pilot I just enjoy these explanations. The math, angles, vectors etc, I used ,yonks ago, when in training for submarine fire control, to get the torpedo to the target. STD is not a disease rather speed x time = distance. Thanks again. Narragansett Bay

I really like this channel! Nice work Joe! Very informative, and plainly explained to those of us new to the content. Really appreciate this.

Back when I flew Lear jets and I was following a "Heavy" jet, I would fly one dot above the glide slope to avoid the turbulence. Later when I flew MD-11's (heavy jet), behind another heavy jet then I didn't bother flying above their glide path.

I really love your videos, I have no knowledge about aviation, and yet I understand it all, really great teaching skills, humour, graffics and simple explanations are the key! Thanks

Excellent vid. Have studied physics and engineering but never ran into this. Wish I took pilot training, but told you have to put up about $80.000 to become commercial or airline pilot. Back in 1985, coughed and went to oilfield. Life missed

Even if it costs $20K, I couldn’t afford that unless I sold my house and lived in a small apartment. I say this on an aircraft mechanics salary. Guess it boils down to life choices. Maybe should have been a doctor or lawyer.

@747-pilot Well, as an engineer, you can have a tremendous advantage becoming a better pilot, but only if you study aerodynamics, engines, airframes and aviation in-depth. Having a THROROUGH and FULL understanding can be the difference in being in full command on an extraordinary situation, or just becoming another helpless passenger... Most recently graduated pilots become mere button-pushers, that rely too much on automation, a sure way to crash someday... But a truly knowledgeable pilot that understands how the plane works, will be in a position to solve difficult failures much better. Take the Alaska Airlines MD crash for example: Would those pilots knew about the possibility of MECHANICAL FAILURE, they would had walked back to the rear of the aircraft, and asked if someone had heard any extraneous noise (the noise made by the stabilizer jackscrew stripping its threads). Instead, they kept trying to handle it incorrectly as an electrical trouble (in fact, sadly, they ended up completely stripping the threads with their attempts to force the jackscrew to turn, precipitating the nosedive and crashing). Knowledge always helps, Ignorance kills!

i dreamt to be an airline pilot but ended up in the merchant marine.boats and planes break down and boats has a greater leeway of survivability if it does lol..

I like that you studied physics and engineering you sound clever.

@747-pilotThanks 747. I wasn't planning on pursuing flying as a CAREER. I'm anything if not a realist and acutely aware my limits especially at this stage of the game. No, I was asking you why YOU couldn't go the cargo flight route in order to pursue YOUR love of flying. If I were in your position I think I'd want to continue to fly for as long as possible. And then fly my own plane after retiring. But hey, thanks for the info and insight. And continued success in your pursuits! ✌🇺🇸

Ive never heard light or medium call out yet.. Initially I thought heavy means the plane is filled with a full tank of fuel 😂

Me too...but I thought heavy also meant full of passengers as well

You wont hear medium, but when flying light, you'll usually start your interaction with the planes model and n-number. "Las Vegas tower, Cesna 424KW with you 6000"

I am happy i learned that, i always assumed it was the weight to make controllers aware of longer take off and stopping lengths on the runway, so always good to be corrected and learn something, cheers.

Thanks! I always thought heavy meant full tanks, pushing the limits of the landinggear, hence alerting the fire brigades..

To a ‘non pilot’ and only occasional Airline Passenger, that was a MOST interesting video, beautifully explaining the terminology! Thank you!

So I was flying in a PC12 and the tower warned the Cessna 152 behind us for “wake turbulence”, aviation bucket list item checked lol. Great vid, thanks for the content

There are situations where the controller MUST issue a cautionary wake turbulence advisory. And, the controller may also issue it when "in their judgement" it may be a factor.

Nancy, sister of gorgeous wings! That person is reason why I appreciate the blocking feature on YouTube. God bless you, sister of wonderful turboprop! 💛😊

@Kaakao Ha! I heard that one too!

American imposter 131, continue on Bravo, after the Cessna. Caution propwash. -Kennedy Steve classics

Cessna WHY WHY WHY

I remember the first time experiencing the wake of aircraft.  I recently moved to a house next to Detroit Metropolitan Airport that was nearly in line with the runway.  I would go out jogging in the evening and on a perfectly calm evening I would hear a rush of wind go through the tree tops every few minutes.  After a while it dawned on me as to what was causing the rush of wind.  Sometimes on humid days the vortices in off of the wing tips would create cloud tubes that would nearly fall to the ground.

Thanks for this video Joe, really helpful! Especially like the video of the plane flying through the smoke showing wake turbulence effect.

Joe I'm not a pilot, I never fly, I'm 71 and a female and really enjoy your videos. I'm amazed at how much you need to know, remember and be able to grab out of your memory at any moment. I'm totally impressed and have learned what a fabulous piece of equipment a jet airplane is.

I would love to be on a plane, would you pay my ticket from Kenya to USA

Me: (says heavy) Atc: sir you're flying a little Cessna Me: yeah but I'm with my MIL

💀

@The Realist ah, 😒 geez. Sounds like one of my Dad’s jokes. 😂😂😂 …and I love it!

I wouldn't say MIL is a big woman, but we were at the beach the other day when the lifeguard came over and asked her to leave, as the tide was waiting to come in!

@Diamond Yoshi101 nah....4XL

U add an "f" to that and you are back to the light cessna.

Amazing Joe, thank you so much for the information. It’s an honor for me to appear in your video 😊

@Valentijn Vos I'd assume for sake of simplicity and to err on side of safety, that the types of wing tips wont change the size classification of any given plane.

Regardless of weight and angle, doesnt the type of wing tips also come into play for the categories? New planes have tips that reduce WT isn’t it??

By the way, I love Qatar Airlines, very professional and courteous. I always fly with you internationally.

Hello C:

That “super” very cool tho

I love your videos, very informative and easy to understand!! 😊

Great explanation. At first when I heard pilots saying " Heavy" thought is was just an ego thing. Look at us we are flying this big airplane. Turns out something more than this. Thanks for the info

Hey Captain Joe you talk about wake turbulence how did bombers etc during the war fly so close to eachother without effecting eachother my grandfather was a captain on the lancaster bomber for the Royal airforce unfortunately he has passed so can't ask what he had to watch for when they fly in formation or is wake only during takeoff and landing, cheers

Actually, when flying in formation the WWII bomber pilot had to avoid the airflow caused by the propellers of the aircraft ahead because it will cause difficulty in maintaining position in the formation.

I Lived near Mascot airport in Sydney, planes came over so low you could see passenger's faces.A noise that we would hear is this back and forth swishing sound after the plane landed, it was like stereo channels left right playing in the sky, this was the swirling vortices from the Jets. An eerie sound.

Very informative video. Always wondered why we had to wait so long on the runway.

Thank you from a non-pilot who just enjoys listening to ATC transmissions as of recently. Definitely fulfilled my curiosity!

Glad I learnt something new! However, I do have a question. Many fighter planes have the capability to refuel in air. How do they manage to fly and and adjust their position precisely in the zone of wake turbulence (from the tanker) during aerial refuelling?

Emmanuel Kitunga wake is generated at the wingtips of the aircraft. So when a fighter (or any aircraft) is refueling, it is so close to the airframe that the wingtip wake is avoided.

Just found your channel after watching your great interview with Kennedy Steve. I was once on Alaska Airlines flying from Portland into LAX, and the plane rolled from side to side approx 30-40 degrees. Everyone was quiet during and after, and I said to my coworker I think we just hit another jet's wake. Prior to that we hit an air pocket while over the ocean and dropped suddenly. The surprise of it made me scream out. The captain never came on the speaker or said anything to the passengers about any of this. Guess he was too busy at the time. Is this proper protocol to not explain anything to the passengers?

@ZK-APA Ok thanks for your reply.

Suzanne Young it depends from situation to situation. Sometimes it’s good to keep the passengers informed, as they’ll be aware of what’s happening around them But other times it’s better to be quiet to avoid making a panicking situation in the cabin.

Hey Captain Joe! Love the videos.. I fly paragliders with AUW of around 95kg... so I guess super super light? Although saying that you can feel wake turbulence whilst ridge soaring as you pass other gliders :)

thank you for explaining this i had heard this on atc many times and had often wondered what it referred to

Good instructional video. I always thought heavy meant the size, bulk of the aircraft. So it's actually due to the severity of wake turbulence caused by the aircraft.

Absolutely fascinating video, Captain! I have wondered about the "heavy" designation for a long time. I thought it had to do with the amount of fuel onboard (take off vs landing), but now I know it has to do with the overall weight of the equipment. Does the consumption of fuel after a long haul ever change the designation from heavy to medium or super to heavy? Thank you so much for all your informative videos. Sorry your boss at Air Berlin was jealous of your success on the Choob. You are awesome!

Daniel Moses no, category of the aircraft remains constant, independent of the actual weight. Only factor is the max take off weight

That one was fascinating. I have always thought 'heavy' meant an aircraft was fully laden with fuel and passengers/freight, thus was less manoeuvrable.

Id love to know why pilots dont or cant get out of long periods of turbulence. Ive had a flight from LAX to SYD and YVR to SYD with 4 hours of turbulence each. Cant the pilot increase or decrease altitude to get out of it?

On my first glider flight many years ago the instructor brought the glider down into the wake of the tow plane so he could get some extra lift on release of the tow rope. It was quite bumpy and we gained height quickly, I thought I was in a roller coaster!

I like your way of describing complex scenarios in laymen terms.... Happy landings joe

I went through ATC school in the Air Force and it is said to recognize that there are aircraft taking off in front of you that cause wake turbulence when taking off. There are FAA regulations on distance and airborne when the next aircraft can be cleared for take off. Wake turbulence is only a departure-departure "crime" and not issued on landings.

I know this video was uploaded a long time ago, but I have a question about the categories. If an A380 is categorized as Super, is the Antanov also categorized as Super or does it have its own category?

Excellent briefing captain Joe! Thank you very much!

That is very interesting. I always thought that "heavy" was related to current fuel load. i.e. all aircraft with full fuel tanks were given the "heavy" designation. Today I learned!

Interesting to see the aircraft on final getting buffeted around on landing. I guess due to something like this we had to do an unexpected go-around at TXL last Monday even though in the cabin, everything felt smooth.

Once I read a definition of stress as, "Coming in to land at a large airport in a small plane, with a maximum speed of 140 MPH, followed by a commercial jet with a stall speed of 140 MPH." I don't know how accurate this is, as I'm sure there would be sufficient separation managed by ATC.

I learned about wake vortices from that. In the US Navy I was stationed on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) of Diego Garcia. There is an air base there and running paralell to the runway, but a few hundred feet away is a road. I'd ride my bicycle along that road for exercise. One lovely, sunny tropical day I heard the rumble of a B-52 taking off, and I knew it would be heavy because, taking off from a 'middle of nowhere' surrounded by thousands of miles of water all B-52s that departed Diego had to go fully fueled. Just before it passed me it started flying (B-52s don't really rotate, they just start flying) and a few moments later I was blasted off the road into the sand by its vortices. Believe me, they are really powerful!! It was like stepping into a hurricane.

I will never forget that time when I was on a flight landing in LAX. As we were approaching the airport, all of a sudden the plane tipped over to the right at a 90 degree angle. I was staring at the roofs of these houses straight down. We all screamed and thought we were going down. We recovered shortly after and then the pilot came onto the PA announcing it was weight turbulence. That was how I learnt the term. It was horrifying and I hope never in my life again.

Another great video. One thing though at 07:30, you can't always go around if you inadvertently fly into vortices from a 'heavy' as you may well not have enough control authority and no choice of where the aircraft will go. I remember being a student solo pilot in a C152 awaiting departure. A C130 Hercules 'heavy' took off and seconds later the tower cleared me for take off. Although I was fully awhere of the issues of this video, being a fresh new pilot and not wanting to upset anyone I slowly and cautiously taxied into the runway and lined up. I took my time but it had only been a minute or so... I opened the throttle to full and (just about) felt those little ponies pull me as hard as they could. I easily got airborne far befor the C130 ahead and climbed out. However I'd noticed the C130's climb angle was far greater than mine and when I was at a couple of hundred feet still above the runway on the upwind leg I intersected (found) his wake! Now I'm a very confident pilot who very much enjoys seat of the pants flying and throwing aeroplanes around the sky, but I will fully admit to not liking that experience at all! It was the lack of control and just being totally and dangerously blown around at extreme attitudes against my will despite all my corrective control inputs... After several seconds I had very clumsily traversed through this huge wake and my C152 started to fly normally again. I had learnt my lesson and then know, if you have reason to stop or wait, just talk to the tower and ask for separation!

Julian Neale Wow! talk about first hand experience! It sounds like your lucky to be able to tell the story. That's HEAVY duty dude! 😄✌🇺🇸

You must have been at a military airport. Herc's and Spectre's don't land at civilian airports. And they fly different vectors than civvies! You should have "learnt" that in the beginning of your instruction and certainly learned it well by the time you solo. (Over-confidence kills, and NO pilot worth his salt "throws airplanes around the sky!")

I always thought "heavy" meant the plane was in some sort of distress. Like having to make an emergency landing with full fuel tanks.

I believe the B-757 also uses "Heavy" in communications even though a Medium category due to its very strong wake.

B757 is NOT a Heavy.

Thanks for this info. I'm definitely not a pilot, but I always thought it meant that there were passengers on board when they announced heavy.

Very interesting explanation. I thought all planes were heavy! I hope the aviation industry will sort out woke left turbulance! 😆

How. That’s amazing how wake can flip a small plane like that. Lots to be learned when it comes to aviation.

Concorde: the most beautiful form of transport ever designed by mankind. A true beauty and sadly missed. My dad worked as an engineer on the development of Concorde and he was devastated when it was grounded. I watched part of the last flight and it was like watching a beautiful bird fly high and free before being shot down by some dumb idiot with a gun. I love that you still miss it :)

Hello Capt Joe just a note to say I really enjoy and appreciate your channel keep up the great work..😊

I was in a small plane as a passenger once that hit wake turbulence. The plane rolled 45 degrees right then quickly rolled 45 degrees left before leveling. I didn’t realize what happened at the time but the panic in the pilot’s voice certainly didn’t help 😂

Happened to me on a regional jet out of JFK, takeoff after a long line of larger aircraft, rocked our plane for about 5 seconds. I thought we were going down

Do winglets have a significant impact on these turbulences? If so, is this even reflected in the categories?

Hey joe, how the fighter jets elude this wake turbulance?? Because I saw group of them flying really close in different formations in many videos..

I'm not Joe, a pilot or an engineer, but I am read up on military aircraft. Most military fighter jets are inherently unstable, which allows them to make sharp turns. However, it means that humans are not able to fly them on their own. As a result, they have flight computers that automatically adjust the control surfaces to keep the plane flying as instructed by the joystick inputs. This takes into account the inherent instability of the fighter jets as well as any turbulence that the plane may encounter.

It makes so much sense the way you explain things. I never thought I needed to know this, but so glad I do now.

Most educational indeed! Thank you so much!

Seriously I really learn a lot from Captain Joe's explanations . as often as I've flown commercial or private I have often wondered about a lot of things that I know are going on but do not understand. he answers those questions for me. even though I am a layman-nonpilot I do have and interest and do care. Thank you Captain Joe for taking the time to do these video's even for us "poor souls" that sit on board trusting our pilots and copilots.

I always wondered about why they say heavy. thanks for explaining to me in plain language. I almost felt I can be a pilot under your tuition. :-)

Marty: Whoa, this is heavy. Doc: There's that word again: "heavy." Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull?

I saw a dog run onto the runway at LAX 24L. Yep, a B767 was taking off. The dog went in the air 20 feet, spun 2 times. He died. The wing vortices are really powerful. Deadly.

8:00 There's "high tow" as you describe, "low tow" where you fly below the propwash. Sometimes preferred as there's less danger to the tug pilot (if the glider pulls up, it lifts the tug's tail, sometimes causing a fatal dive). Training exercise is to "box" the tow plane's wake. Also to fly into the wake so the trainee knows what it feels like to sit there. Do you put minor mistakes into all the videos so folk can pedantically correct/expand in the comments and drive up engagement?

Great video, thanks. You helped me understand something that I''ve always been curious about.

Another excellent factual video. Thank you!

A glider flier a little higher that the tug plane so that it does not get destabilized due to the wake turbulence of the tug plane. Also this is why the tail horizontal stabilizer (the one with the elevators) is sometimes placed higher than the main wing or have a dihedral or anhedral to get out of the way of the wake turbulence caused by the main wing.

So, comment from a dumbass meatbomb (skydiver), when we fly multi plane drops, the rear aircraft sits slightly BELOW the lead aircraft to avoid wake turbulence and falling into the dead air (cavitation), if anyone remembers the vids from a few years back where two jump planes collided while jumpers were climbing out? Rear craft was aft and up of lead craft. Is this not the same for gliders due to aspect ratio/wingspan/other fluid dynmagic? *Edit* still not clear on this, I'll shut up and do some research!

@charles becker Tailplane anhedral is used to increase pitch down elevator authority at high angles of attack, high alpha in todays parlance. It ensures that at least part of the elevator is not in the dirty air of the wing, so the answer to your question would be yes. One of the best examples is the F4 Phantom. A T tail has the same effect and is fitted to a large number of modern gliders for that reason and it lessens the opportunity for damage when landing out in unprepared fields.

Is this why the Martin flying boats of WWII had such a severe dihedral in the horizontal stabilizer?

The glider flying above the towplane to avoid wake turbulence is not strictly true. There are two positions, high tow, which is just above the prop wash of the tow plane, and low tow which is just below the prop wash. High tow is normally used for launching and low tow used for cross country tows. Personally I remain in high tow for the early climb and then switch down to low tow for the climb. With modern gliders the low tow position tends to be more stable and lessens the likelehood of losing sight of the tug, very bad news as the immediate action if you do lose sight of the tug is to release.

Most modern gliders have their horisontal stabilizer mounted high for several reasons, main reasons being: 1 - Fewer parts and simpler connection / control hook-up when rigging/de-rigging 2 - Simpler structure = lighter parts 3 - Out of the way relative to tall grass / ground obstacles in the event of an outlanding and general ground handling. 4 - Stabilizer is kept outside the turbulence coming off the fuselage & wings. The tug do create wake turbulence but the glider need to be below the tug in order to feel it. The ideal position of the glider relative to the tug is in the direct line between propeller axis and tug stabilizer. In this position the tug pilot will feel very little, if any, vertical pull from the glider trailing behind.

I was in an A320 back in 2010 and we hit wake turbulence at high altitude. The plane dropped so fast that some passengers flew up from their seats. It was pretty scary mainly because there was no warning.

Thank you. Now I know what HEAVY means. QUESTION: What is the difference between Nautical Miles and Road Miles when one is driving a car?

Concorde, whether due to the speed or exerted weight, was always special. Missing Concorde a lot. Good vid

Heck! I am not even a pilot nor do i know the location of the nearest aeronautical school in town but, I feel I could fly a plane from watching your videos :)

07:12 "especially with passengers on board" 😂 I can see the panic😂

When doing my first solo in a T6 Texan I did a loop and went through my own wake at the bottom of it. It scared me half to death because I had zero clue what just jolted my aircraft. I told my instructors what happened and they laughed at me and was surprised I must have flown the perfect loop. Anyone else experience this?

Some pilots also say, "Far out," however, the tower controllers really want to hear how far out. Pilots have to be specific.

hello captain joe, I want to know if the aircraft use the suffix heavy according to the weight they are carrying at the moment or even without considerable weight it remains heavy in the case of A330, and I also want to know if the B747-8 uses the super suffix like the A380

Nice, this is one topic I been wondering about, please do more ATC terminologies

Seems to be fond of ATC

I Agree :D

That makes sense of the different times between aircraft landing/taking off that I watch as I'm stuck on the M25 near Heathrow.

Good explanation of heavy jet separation. However, contrary to your explanation of a turboprop departing after a heavy, there is also increased separation when departing behind. Generally 4nm heavy after a departed heavy. And 5 nm for others after a departed heavy. Also, 2 minutes time may be used, but controllers usually use the RADAR separation as it is usually more efficient. If the pilot wants the 2 minutes, they should advise the controller BEFORE taking the runway.

The day before an airshow several military aviations enthusiest and I were very close to the end of a runway where a C-5B Galaxy and AN-224 Mriya to fly in. Although we were in an unrestricted part of the airbase we were subjected to very strong gusts from the aircraft about 20 seconds after the airplane landed. The Mriya is the worlds heavies aircraft and it's wake turbulence was phenomenal even when you stand 1000 feet from the end of the runway. One guy standing on top of his truck got pushed off by the wind but fortunately was not injured. I miss the yearly airshow since that airbase was decommissioned.

Great video. Do winglets make any difference to the severity of WT?

Hey Joe, how little is the gap between the turbine fan and the housing? It looks tiny. Also how far can wings actually bend in turbulence?

WS P Wow that’s one heck of a test. A lot more bending than I expected.

Something which may be of interest also is these compressor rotor blades are manufactured from materials in their raw form. This allows the rotor blades to utilise the strongest covalent bonding of the materials at a molecular level. The result of which is the strongest rotor blade possible. Just a little thing I recall from my BGT theory days.

This raises a very interesting point I hadn't ever considered. As the airflow passes beyond N1 and is compressed along the many stages of rotors and stators the blade tip vorticies must be immense and many to produce the lift/thrust that they do, especially as the compressors rotate introducing inertia of the airflow being spun away from the boundary layer of the rotor blades. Sometimes I'm just amazed and in utter awe of the engineering of jet engines!

Well, I do have some knowledge about how the wings create lift and vortices but not so much about the wing bending. The only thing I can say about it is that it heavily depends on the specific aircraft (size, type of wings, etc.)

Thanks for yet another educational video. You’re awesome Capt. Joe.

And there was me thinking it was either a plane coming in carrying too much fuel, luggage and passengers. Or a mini emergency 🙈🙈. Thanks for the explanation

Can fuel impact weight categorization? For example, if a plane that's normally on the high end of "medium" was attempting to land with extra fuel weight, could it add enough weight for them to declare themselves as heavy?

Quick question: does a windy day make any difference? I'm thinking of a side wind that would maybe move these turbulences away?

What about refueling aircraft? What is the technique or procedure for avoiding wake turbulence in this unique situation?

Wake turbulence is most dangerous behind, under and at a 45 to the wings. Most dangerous on approach to land or on takeoff following a big boy taking off.

@NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY 😑

Fighter jets or recon aircraft approach and fly BELOW the tanker to avoid wing wake!

Evan J - I like your avatar!

That's the hardest part of the task.

Just flew out of LAX and we watched from the taxiway as a a380 took off threw the low/thin clouds. It was pretty incredible to watch the size of the vortex that formed.was just like the video at 6:19.