this is time lapse photography of a
dangerous weather condition called wind
shear usually accompanied by intense
downdrafts and heavy rain
in recent years it has been linked to
several aircraft disasters
nasa has been investigating these
hazards in hopes of understanding their
effect on aircraft performance so that
safer procedures can be
devised we're encountering a little bit
of turbulence
altitude 400 feet okay we have wind
shear warning a joint wind shear
research program between nasa and the
faa is concentrating on building
avoidance procedures through pilot
education with the use of simulators
this is a computer model of wind shear
notice the effect of the downdraft
when a plane flies into this the winds
can force it down
nasa researcher dave hinton feels that
simulator training is the key to
teaching pilots how to deal with the
problem
for example this past summer july 11
1988
four aircraft encountered a microburst
at denver staplan airport
that was every bit as strong as the
microburst that caused the crash at
dallas fort worth in 1985. yet these
four aircraft survived that encounter
because of the training they'd received
because of the training that the crews
had received because of early
recognition of the threat and early
initiation of go around maneuver and
proper escape maneuver also at langley a
heavy rain simulator has been devised by
a group of aerospace technologists
at one end of the half-mile track is a
tubular steel carriage designed
originally to test tires and landing
gear
but specifically adapted to carry part
of a full-scale aircraft wing section
the wing is oriented to represent
takeoff for landing settings used by
commercial airliners
water under extreme pressure launches
the sled on a track at 150 miles per
hour
a field of over 1500 nozzles creates a
windstorm for the wind
in 10 seconds the test is over
sensors on the wing measure its
performance
looking at the test again in slow motion
an area of water turbulence can be seen
over the front part of the wind
wind tunnel studies have estimated that
this turbulence causes a performance
loss of 15 to 20 percent depending upon
rain intensity
aerospace technologist gaudi bezos we
are here doing a large scale test to see
if it's real is a realistic
effect at large scale
nasa's research on the effect of
dangerous weather conditions preparing
pilots for what mother nature has to
offer