Nikon Coolpix P7100.
Bosco, great photos. What were they taken with?
And here’s the good part about it, the photos…
Approaching ODINA, a look out to the west. This is where we had up to 80 knots from the northeast, but no turbulence.
Overhead Locarno, a view covering most of the upper Piedmont region.
The hills of the Monferrato, just south of the river Po.
A little later, the western alpine arc, looking north.
Treacherous beauty, the Maritime Alps, along the Italian-French border.
Another look back towards the North; look how the Mont Blanc – more than 200kms away – is “sticking out”.
After this, the turbulence started (winds at the time were “only” 35-40 knots, out of the northeast), and I was obviously busy flying the plane. It became marginally more calm once were over the sea. Here’s Bordighera and Ventimiglia further back.
Monaco:
The airport of Nice:
The city of Nice:
Cap d’Antibes:
Cannes:
Le Vieux Port:
La Croisette and the new harbour.
Taxi to the fuel station after landing on 17:
OK, here’s a little bit of an aftermath to the mentioned turbulence /mountain wave encounter.
Here’s the flightplanned route with the forecast wind (the wind was much stronger over the central Alps, where no turbulence was encountered; the forecast was accurate for the Ligurian Apennines /French Maritime Alps, where the turbulence took place):
Here’s the plot of the second half of the flight:
The turbulence was between BORDI point (just before the track turns west over the coast) and Nice (just before the destination).
Here’s the long list of SIGMETs (see that last one in particular):
In hindsight, I am not sure if going via Geneva and Lyon would have been better. The wind directions would suggest so, but I know this is not an exact science.
What definitely was a mistake was to cancel IFR just before BORDI and to fly over the Ligurian Apennines /French Maritime Alps at low level:
That put us right into that mountain wave coming over the top of the mountains towards the sea.
A lesson learned though.
Airborne
I had missed the OP saying it was clear.
In my case it was a while ago so I cant entirely recall the conditions.
I suspect there was a high cloud base and I recall a sizeable thunderstorm out over the channel, but it was a long way away – maybe 20 to 30 miles. The ground was flat and there was no falling rain. I recall asking at the time what other pilots thought it might be and the suggestion of a microburst was offered. I am not sure it was an accurate explanation given the conditions but nothing better was offered. I guess in terms of my experience it did add up.
It was incredibly attention grabbing at the time and bizarre to find myself descending so rapidly.
Sounds like a micro burst.
Flyer59 said that conditions were sky clear, so it couldn’t have been a microburst.
Fortunately i have only experienced this once but it still stands out.
Your experience of an equally rapid climb at the end of the event doesn’t fit in with a microburst either. Could it have been a rotor? What was the weather and terrain situation?
Sounds like a micro burst.
Fortunately i have only experienced this once but it still stands out.
En route to manston about 4,000 feet and as smooth as you like. Without warning the altimeter started unwinding rapidly, full chat from the single 180 lycoming failed to arrest the descent with nose high close to stall. It really grabbed the attention to the point of realising salvation might be a landing at headcorn just over the left shoulder. At about 1,000 feet the turbulence started severe (well in ga terms) followed by an equally rapid climb. Back at around 4,000 feet the turbulence stopped and thereafter as smooth as silk.
Just maybe you were on the edge of one of these micro bursts.
I think it was no wake turbulence, very far from any airport … also it was over open land/fields … no quarries either … it was strange because it was only one isolated hit, like with a big hammer from above … and the rest of the flight was completely calm! Since it came from “above” (downdraught) I don’t think it was lifting air …
Quarries can also generate localised areas of rising air, as well as pine forests.
I remember flying with a paraglider pilot who had an impressive (to me) ability to predict where we would fly through thermals, where we would find mechanically raised air masses just by looking at the ground and terrain.
Wake turbulence perhaps?
Or a sheet of hot air rising from a tarmac road heated by the sun. The road can be 2000ft below.
I have seen such isolated but severe bumps.
