Crossing The Streams

摘要

All pilots and controllers know about wake turbulence, the vortices streaming out and downward from an airplane's wingtips anytime it's generating lift. We know they're strongest when the generating airplane is heavy, clean and slow. We know not to fly in-trail of a larger airplane at the same altitude unless there are at least three minutes' separation, preferably more. We know to land beyond a preceding large airplane's touchdown point and lift off before where it rotated. We know to either outclimb it-good luck with that in most personal airplanes-or turn away from a departing jet's wake as soon as possible after takeoff. We also know that surface winds can blow a wake vortex back onto the runway and leave it there, just for us.