Air hole
Air hole is the colloquial term for the short-term change in altitude of an aircraft when flying through gusts of wind , thermals , clear air turbulence or lee waves . The air hole has nothing to do with falling air pressure or even briefly flying through a vacuum - in other words, there is no “air hole” at all during a flight. The passengers of an aircraft feel a change in the force with which they are pressed into the seat or, in the event of strong turbulence, also lifted out of the seat of the aircraft.
Impact on passengers
The human body reacts very sensitively to changes in weight, especially to its decrease. When the aircraft has flown through the center of an ascending air current, the force with which it is accelerated upwards is reduced, and with it the force with which it in turn accelerates the passengers. The passengers perceive this as a decrease in weight and already have the impression of falling, although they are actually still moving upwards due to the inertia . The increase in weight after flying through the center of the descending air is felt by the passengers to be less pronounced and, as a rule, also not perceived as unpleasant.
The lower the airspeed , the more gentle these vertical gusts act on the passengers. A large mass (or wing loading ) of the aircraft also ensures a reduced effect on the passengers, since it changes its altitude ( vertical speed) less than a light aircraft due to its greater inertia .
Unusually high loads can occur if the speed of the air flow varies greatly and the aircraft is exposed to different flow speeds or even different flow directions at different points. Close to the ground, i.e. during take-off, but especially during landing, a reduction in flight altitude caused in this way can lead to the aircraft having unwanted ground contact.
People have already been injured and even killed as a result of these accelerations, which cannot always be foreseen. It is therefore recommended that you stay buckled up in passenger aircraft at all times.
Further uses of the expression
- In colloquial language , a hole for ventilation or an air-filled cavity is sometimes referred to as an air hole.
- In chess , an evacuation that gives the king an alternative to an impending checkmate is known as a vent.
- In soccer , missing the ball is described as "striking an air hole". The term is mostly used for unsuccessful attempts to shoot.
See also
- Clear Air Turbulence for the technical side
