Clouds....

I'm afraid of flying.. I would rather travel by  ship than by plane!     But I do love the clouds! :o))

Clouds and their temperament

Although they seem to be serene and romantic, when seen from a
distance, clouds are actually going through a constant process of

change. The more observant passenger can see this flowing action

going on at the top of those enormous, brilliantly white masses of

water vapor. The constant movement of the upper layers of a large

cloud is the result of a struggle for equlibrium staged by billions of
water particles, with varying temperatures and densities, in a process
that can roughly be compared to a boiling pot of water. Water vapor
particles move to the upper part of the cloud, forming a very strong ascending current.

Experienced pilots know that dense clouds mean turbulence and should

 be kept at a respectable distance. In fact, the existence of these formations is announced in weather bulletins, before takeoff, and by onboard radar, during the flight. It is now possible to give wide berth

to high winds, hail, lightning and storms. Obviously, there is always the possibility of a moment of tension. On nights flights, for instance, the

 show put on by lightning flashes can be very impressive. But you don't

 have to worry: lightning is harmless, even in the extremely rare event

that, before going on its way, the electrical discharge makes contact

with external metal parts of the airplane.

In short, the pilot seeks to always keep his flight hundreds of meters

 from certain cloud formations. Under the rare conditions when this is impossible, you can even tell your friends that you flew near a storm,

but never that your jet went through astorm. With all of the

forecasting resources on the ground, the onboard monitoring

systems, and pilot training, storms are avoided at all cost.

Ernesto Klotzel

Created on September, 20, 2002