I rarely fly old planes (A340, B717, B767, B747 etc.) since they have a problem with turbulence/winds inflight. Notice when planes like the A350 encounter adverse conditions inflight, the wing just flexes and the plane normally adjusted. However, while flying older (non reworked) aircraft, the wing stays stiff and the whole plane rocks around violently. Also, with the 787 and A330, (consider these to be half reworked aircraft) wingflex occurs too frequently to be realistic. Can anyone explain why that is?
Thanks.
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Wingflex isnât implemented on the older aircraft, so that may be the reason.
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I know, but the plane violently pitches up, down, left and right. Once the AP disengaged while inflight and the plane crashed.
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Were you calibrated? I agree that the older planes arenât amazing but they are definitely flyable.
Yes, but I was doing a long haul, I was away and the device was lying face down. Looks like I have to use a phone stand next time.
The Autopilot disengaged on itâs own?
Yes. The turbulence was too vigorous.
Seems like they have to fix this.
What were the winds exactly? As far as I know, this isnât a widespread problem, so I donât think there will be a âfixâ until a rework of the aircraft.
100 knots quartering tailwinds, with 30-40 knots variable. Very shaky.
It was 40000 feet. I tried descending to a lower altitude, but it was even worse down there.
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Well, Iâm not sure what to say because it doesnât seem like a big aircraft problem, just high winds. What you can do if you get into one of these situations is to use windy.com to see where the winds are calmer and maybe take a little course deviation.
Never seen a case where winds caused the autopilot to disengage.
But the answer the initial question;
âWing flexâ acts like shock absorbers. So itâll definitely look worse one aircraft without flex.
I could also see this as an issue with being too heavy for 40,000 feet, considering youâre on a long haul with a heavy aircraft. Iâve seen instances where being too high for your weight and not stepclimbing have resulted in stalls, eventually disengaging autopilot and crashing to the ground. 100 knots most definitely isnât enough to disengage the autopilot, regardless if it is a crosswind or not.
Thanks! Thatâs also called âaeroelasticityâ or âflexible wingâ.
No. This was toward the end of the flight.
Could you share your replay via sharemyinfiniteflight.com please?
Oh. I deleted it, since my device ran out of memory.
Sorry! I may send it to you if it happens again.
Well that doesnât really help the situation, does it? Canât help if there isnât enough details or evidence. If it happens again, please save your replay. Itâs like reporting a crime with video evidence but destroying it on the way to the police station.