1 hour ago, wiggum said:

My question was, can a wind gust in real life change your altitude by 200-300 feet in a second or two?

I don’t know. But could it have been the pressure changing after a weather reload? I’m not sure how they’ve implemented weather updates during gameplay, but it could be they aren’t totally seamless/smooth?

Yeah, might have been a bug, but why the short violent shaking?

11 hours ago, wiggum said:

My question was, can a wind gust in real life change your altitude by 200-300 feet in a second or two?

Good question. I had a loss of lift recently just before the threshold in gusting conditions. Not sure if it was wind shear or... Perhaps one of the pros can enlighten us. @sd_flyer?

On 9/27/2022 at 12:04 AM, cianpars said:

It's certainly a bit aggressive for my taste.  Maybe the jet jockeys find it OK, but us GA pilots are getting chucked around a bit.

Where are you flying? Did you check the METAR and TAF before taking off? If you don't like flying in turbulence then select a preset and remove all the wind and gusts. It won't be realistic but you'll probably enjoy it more.

Edited September 28, 20223 yr by TrafficPilot

36 minutes ago, wiggum said:

Yeah, might have been a bug, but why the short violent shaking?

That's nature!

14 minutes ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Good question. I had a loss of lift recently just before the threshold in gusting conditions. Not sure if it was wind shear or... Perhaps one of the pros can enlighten us. @sd_flyer?

I only experienced altitude loss like that associated with downdrafts in mountains, especially crossing ridges on leeward side. The worst altitude I ever had was in a microburst from nearby thunderstorms. Windshear is something I don't mess with anymore. One LLWS report and I'm canceling flight.  

Also wroth mentioning most airliner avoid adverse weather or heavy turbulence. If you guys want to find how big jet can be knocked out ask military or freight guys. 

14 minutes ago, sd_flyer said:

I only experienced altitude loss like that associated with downdrafts in mountains, especially crossing ridges on leeward side. The worst altitude I ever had was in a microburst from nearby thunderstorms. Windshear is something I don't mess with anymore. One LLWS report and I'm canceling flight.  

My guess was that I was on the leeward side of higher terrain in the video i referred to. I had to try the approach several times as I tended to end up in the sea rather than the runway. There was a distinct place every time were I would loose several hundred feet in a few seconds. Had to compensate with increased power and not running full flaps. 

12 hours ago, wiggum said:

My question was, can a wind gust in real life change your altitude by 200-300 feet in a second or two?

A second or two might be iffy in normal turbulence, especially for 300 feet, but it can certainly change your altitude quickly.

But, when as others have mentioned you bring downdrafts or microbursts into the equation, it gets a lot more possible.. Back in my old chasing days, I saw the immediate aftermath of an intense ground-level microburst. It leveled trees and did significant damage to houses. Before it got to the ground, it was up in the storm cell blasting downward at possibly more than 100mph. 

So, just picture what might happen when you fly your 172 into air that's moving downward at triple-digit speeds. It'll be even worse if you were flying through an updraft before hitting the downdraft - now you're going into the downdraft with the controls set to keep the plane from ascending, which will only enhance the altitude loss when the wind shifts. There's a reason real pilots usually avoid significant thunderstorms like the plague; those things can toss a plane around like it's made of paper.

47 minutes ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Good question. I had a loss of lift recently just before the threshold in gusting conditions. Not sure if it was wind shear or... Perhaps one of the pros can enlighten us. @sd_flyer?

This past weekend, I was crossing the Appalachian Mountain chain right as a cold front was pushing through. We enjoyed 50kt tailwinds at 8000’ all the way from the Chicago area. Unfortunately as we where crossing the Appalachians, we not only had to deal with some moderate convective activity, but as I looked over the top of the building cumulus, I spotted a line of standing lenticular clouds associated with mountain wave activity. Sure enough, on the lee side of the mountains we hit a huge downdraft along with all other the turbulence associated with the cold front. Not particularly fun but, thankfully manageable. 

29 minutes ago, Cpt_Piett said:

My guess was that I was on the leeward side of higher terrain in the video i referred to. I had to try the approach several times as I tended to end up in the sea rather than the runway. There was a distinct place every time were I would loose several hundred feet in a few seconds. Had to compensate with increased power and not running full flaps. 

Yes I would do high angle of approach, Vref + gust factor, no flaps and expect downdraft with prompt power compensation 

11 minutes ago, sd_flyer said:

Yes I would do high angle of approach, Vref + gust factor, no flaps and expect downdraft with prompt power compensation 

Thanks! Your advice is really appreciated. It's been a while since I did RW flying.