Wow, yeah, this can happen. In and near thunderstorms updrafts and downdrafts can well exceed 100 miles per hour. If you fly into one, the plane is almost instantly accelerated up or down, 0 to 100 MPH. This can slam you into the ceiling.
As a sailplane pilot, we actively seek updrafts and use them to gain altitude. It can get pretty rough (and fun) but you always have a seatbelt on tight. Commercial planes try their best to avoid these things but occasionally get caught.
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/mass-casualty-emergency-at-honolulu-airport-36-patients-treated/
@karlauerbach @shuttersparks ... and that's if you stay inside the plane.
@karlauerbach Yes it will. It's violent. Singles are usually limited to about 2 Gs. Sailplanes are built for much higher G forces (which I make full use of. Lol.)
@shuttersparks I am not going up with you for a ride.
(There's a couple around here who own an open seater acrobatic craft. They take up unsuspecting "friends" who sometimes "decorate" their seat when they put the plane through its paces.)
@karlauerbach Hahaha. All in good fun. If you're going to really wring it out up there, the plane has to be built for it.
@karlauerbach @shuttersparks On my first solo cross country I crossed under a thundercloud, at beyond the FAA approved distance for VFR.
The stuff in my flight bag was hitting the ceiling of the plane and then back into the seat fast enough I could not have caught it even if I'd taken my hands off the yoke to try. That doesn't qualify as severe turbulence for the FAA.
@smellsofbikes @shuttersparks Imagine how bad when a Navy fighter pilot says "it was the worst ride of my life".
@karlauerbach @smellsofbikes I believe it. Aerobatics involve high G's but it's mostly smooth changes. Plus, if you're the pilot, you know exactly what's coming. That's not the same as getting violently randomly jerked around by forces you don't control.
@shuttersparks @smellsofbikes - My (now gone) father-in-law flew several P3 Orions on hurricane penetration flights. And not all of the aircraft had gone through the upgrades to do that job.
@karlauerbach @smellsofbikes That sounds exciting and fascinating.
@smellsofbikes @karlauerbach Hah. And the wings a-flappin'.
I feel much safer in a sailplane. No engine to fail and the wings are designed to bend, a lot.
@shuttersparks @smellsofbikes Have you seen the videos of the wing bending tests that Boeing did on the 787s? Wow, that's a lot of flex. Here's a link (it's not a very well done video):
@karlauerbach @smellsofbikes Hah, I have seen that video. The takeoff shown is not unlike taking off from Orange County, CA. (Noise abatement flight path). The 757 was quite the hotrod and takeoffs from OC were always fun. One time I was lucky, the plane was lightly loaded, and the pilot really got on it. Whoo hoo.
There are videos of static tests also including destructive tests. Bend it until it breaks.
Nowadays they use fancy hydraulics. They used to pile weights on the wings, then check for stresses and elongated rivet holes. Lol.
The wings of a B-52 can flex alarmingly too and still be within design limits. The wingtips of B-52s used to have small wheels because they would touch the ground when the plane was fully fueled.
@shuttersparks @smellsofbikes Ugh, Orange county, John Wayne. Nearly in *two* collisions in one day there. When landing the controllers put us on same runway at same time as another plane - we made an 180 at about 100' elevation. That evening they put us (in a fast Bellanca) out after a Cessna 150. They cleared us too soon and in the fog over Newport we overtook the Cessna and - just saw the blinking lights - and just barely flew over its top.
There are good reasons why I like the ground.
@karlauerbach @smellsofbikes Oh boy. Then you're familiar with the exciting noise abatement takeoff that caters to the rich folks that live in Newport Beach.
@shuttersparks Whoa 😮 I didn't realize turbulence could ever be more than a little rattling. That's scary 🥶
@april Yeah, it can get real rough. Bear in mind that hailstones grow by being blown up and down in a t-storm. Down, picks up moisture, up to the freezing cold, back down to pick up another layer of moisture, and so on. Imagine the wind it takes to blow a baseball-sized hailstone upwards.
I once suffered some costly damage to the plane by flying close to but outside of a t-storm. I didn't realize that t-storms sometimes throw hail out sideways into clear air. They do.
@shuttersparks I have a friend. He and his father (a former US Navy fighter pilot) accidentally entered an embedded T-storm in their single engine. Said it was the roughest ride they ever had. Popped some rivets out of a wing.