5 ms·

What it's like to skydive through a thunderstorm

197 points by mootothemax 15y ago

utefan001 15y ago
did Nolan survive?
- bigiain 15y ago
  As I read it, Nolan was in another plane, presumably he would have landed normally (on the assumption his engine didn't also cut out).
- jessriedel 15y ago
  Like me, you might have initially misread the article and thought that Nolan and Rankin were in the same plane. In fact, they were each flying solo in their own planes.
wccrawford 15y ago
"Lightning".
- mootothemax 15y ago
  Hehe, thanks for the correction; that's one of my "gotcha" misspellings that, despite knowing how often I get it wrong, I still write incorrectly nonetheless! :)
cas 15y ago
Really interesting yet scary account, not what I was expecting! Google Cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KLIEiKsxqsUJ:www.damninteresting.com/rider-on-the-storm/+Lt+Herbert+Nolan&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KLIEiKs...
steve8918 15y ago
Very interesting story. One question for any experts: why did he eject at such a high altitude? Would it have been possible for him to have taken the plane down to a lower altitude before trying to eject? Or was there a technical reason why he had to eject when he did?
- mikeash 15y ago
  It sounds like he was losing control of the airplane, which was diving towards the ground, increasing its speed. The faster the plane is going, the more dangerous it is to eject (all of that onrushing air hits you really hard, and supersonic ejections are not at all entertaining). Before too long, it's likely that the plane would have broken up due to excessive speed, at which point the pilot's chances of survival would have dropped dramatically. In the absence of a thunderstorm, it would have been no problem to eject at that altitude. Since he didn't realize what the storm was going to do to him, I think that's the rationale behind the choice.
- crikli 15y ago
  Glide ratio, or lack thereof. Swept wing fighters usually have a glide ratio of like 1.5:1, meaning you go 1.5 feet for every foot you drop. With the engine out you've lost the hydraulic boost you have over the control surfaces so the aircraft is going to become more and more difficult to control as it accelerates. Also, crap glide ratios mean it's much easier to get into an accelerated stall that almost instantly becomes a spin...and then you're really screwed. And the low glide ratio means that even if the control issues weren't there, you're not gliding your way out of a t-cell. I've flown over a flat-top cumulonimbus once with a friend who owned an Epic LT turboprop. Those things are...well, words fail. Epic ^ inf.
TheloniusPhunk 15y ago
Awesome.
PaulHoule 15y ago
A few Germans ejected into a thunderstorm during WWII and got lifted by the updraft... They were turned into hailstones and thrown miles away.
- JshWright 15y ago
  While some German jets did have ejection seats in WWII, they weren't terribly common.
  - PaulHoule 15y ago
    I don't think it was an ejection seat, I think they jumped out the hatch.
crikli 15y ago
I would love to buy the book about his experience, but copies are way expensive ($60-$160). http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Rode-Thunder/dp/0135482712 http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Rode-Thunder/dp/0135482712 Perhaps if all us HNers could click on the "I'd like to read this on Kindle" link the publisher might re-release it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/detail/request-kindle-edition/ref=dtp_dp_su_0135482712?ie=UTF8&a=0135482712 http://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/detail/request-kindle...
- gnosis 15y ago
  Try seeing if you can get it at your local library or a nearby university library. Even if they don't have a copy, they might be able to get it for you through inter-library loan.
- hexagonc 15y ago
  done
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
astrec 15y ago
This story also appears in Gavin Pretor-Pinney's The Cloudspotter's Guide, which is one of the more amusing and inspiring books about clouds I've come across. There's a slightly more modern instance of someone surviving a CuNim under canopy: Ewa Wisnierska (and some other pilots) encountered the mother of all cloud suck during practice for 2007 paragliding world championships in Manilla, Australia. Ewa survived after reaching an altitude of 32600 feet, ostensibly because her unconscious body slumped in a position that steered her glider out of the storm by weight shift, and the accumulated ice in the canopy (paragliders are a ram-air airfoil of non-porous construction) caused a collapse which returned her to a survivable altitude. Another pilot, He Zhongpin, died after being struck by lightning in the same system. There's a documentary called Miracle in the Storm which details Ewa's survival.
- mikeash 15y ago
  Not long after this happened, I was in China and met up with a local glider pilot to check into the possibility of doing some flying in that country. It didn't work out (soaring is not exactly common or easy there) but we had an interesting talk. Turned out he did paragliding too and was friends with the Chinese fellow who got killed in that cloud in Australia. This is yet another reason I won't try paragliding. I don't want to fly anything where my body forms the landing gear, nor anything whose terminal velocity is lower than the speed of updrafts in a thunderstorm.
  - astrec 15y ago
    Interesting. I had a friend come back from a flying trip to China a few weeks ago and he said much the same thing - not common and too hard logistically. It's not the sport for everyone, that's for sure. I love it, and am never quite so happily as when the vario is screaming, although I'll admit it's 98% bliss and 2% pure terror. It's worth mentioning that a CuNim will happily break a 747 too - that's why all aircraft give them a wide berth. In Manilla it was a case of competitive pilots taking disproportionate risks. Based on the photos I've seen of that day, I think a lesser pilot such as myself would never even have launched.
    - 15y ago
bryanh 15y ago
I'm so glad Alan is back and doing these again, after the book came out he kind of dropped off the edge of the Earth. Definitely one of the few sites I checked regularly.
cromulent 15y ago
This sounds horrendous. I've fallen through rain clouds more than a few times, which is painful but bearable, and hail once, which is not. Don't jump through green clouds if you can avoid it.
ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago
http://xkcd.com/962 http://xkcd.com/962 http://explainxkcd.com/2011/10/10/the-corliss-resolution http://explainxkcd.com/2011/10/10/the-corliss-resolution

197 points by mootothemax 15y ago

utefan001 15y ago

did Nolan survive?

bigiain 15y ago
As I read it, Nolan was in another plane, presumably he would have landed normally (on the assumption his engine didn't also cut out).
jessriedel 15y ago
Like me, you might have initially misread the article and thought that Nolan and Rankin were in the same plane. In fact, they were each flying solo in their own planes.

wccrawford 15y ago

"Lightning".

mootothemax 15y ago
Hehe, thanks for the correction; that's one of my "gotcha" misspellings that, despite knowing how often I get it wrong, I still write incorrectly nonetheless! :)

cas 15y ago

Really interesting yet scary account, not what I was expecting! Google Cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KLIEiKsxqsUJ:www.damninteresting.com/rider-on-the-storm/+Lt+Herbert+Nolan&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KLIEiKs...

steve8918 15y ago

Very interesting story. One question for any experts: why did he eject at such a high altitude? Would it have been possible for him to have taken the plane down to a lower altitude before trying to eject? Or was there a technical reason why he had to eject when he did?

mikeash 15y ago
It sounds like he was losing control of the airplane, which was diving towards the ground, increasing its speed. The faster the plane is going, the more dangerous it is to eject (all of that onrushing air hits you really hard, and supersonic ejections are not at all entertaining). Before too long, it's likely that the plane would have broken up due to excessive speed, at which point the pilot's chances of survival would have dropped dramatically. In the absence of a thunderstorm, it would have been no problem to eject at that altitude. Since he didn't realize what the storm was going to do to him, I think that's the rationale behind the choice.
crikli 15y ago
Glide ratio, or lack thereof. Swept wing fighters usually have a glide ratio of like 1.5:1, meaning you go 1.5 feet for every foot you drop. With the engine out you've lost the hydraulic boost you have over the control surfaces so the aircraft is going to become more and more difficult to control as it accelerates. Also, crap glide ratios mean it's much easier to get into an accelerated stall that almost instantly becomes a spin...and then you're really screwed. And the low glide ratio means that even if the control issues weren't there, you're not gliding your way out of a t-cell. I've flown over a flat-top cumulonimbus once with a friend who owned an Epic LT turboprop. Those things are...well, words fail. Epic ^ inf.

TheloniusPhunk 15y ago

Awesome.

PaulHoule 15y ago

A few Germans ejected into a thunderstorm during WWII and got lifted by the updraft... They were turned into hailstones and thrown miles away.

JshWright 15y ago
While some German jets did have ejection seats in WWII, they weren't terribly common.
- PaulHoule 15y ago
  I don't think it was an ejection seat, I think they jumped out the hatch.

crikli 15y ago

I would love to buy the book about his experience, but copies are way expensive ($60-$160). http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Rode-Thunder/dp/0135482712 http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Rode-Thunder/dp/0135482712 Perhaps if all us HNers could click on the "I'd like to read this on Kindle" link the publisher might re-release it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/detail/request-kindle-edition/ref=dtp_dp_su_0135482712?ie=UTF8&a=0135482712 http://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/detail/request-kindle...

gnosis 15y ago
Try seeing if you can get it at your local library or a nearby university library. Even if they don't have a copy, they might be able to get it for you through inter-library loan.
hexagonc 15y ago
done

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

astrec 15y ago

This story also appears in Gavin Pretor-Pinney's The Cloudspotter's Guide, which is one of the more amusing and inspiring books about clouds I've come across. There's a slightly more modern instance of someone surviving a CuNim under canopy: Ewa Wisnierska (and some other pilots) encountered the mother of all cloud suck during practice for 2007 paragliding world championships in Manilla, Australia. Ewa survived after reaching an altitude of 32600 feet, ostensibly because her unconscious body slumped in a position that steered her glider out of the storm by weight shift, and the accumulated ice in the canopy (paragliders are a ram-air airfoil of non-porous construction) caused a collapse which returned her to a survivable altitude. Another pilot, He Zhongpin, died after being struck by lightning in the same system. There's a documentary called Miracle in the Storm which details Ewa's survival.

mikeash 15y ago
Not long after this happened, I was in China and met up with a local glider pilot to check into the possibility of doing some flying in that country. It didn't work out (soaring is not exactly common or easy there) but we had an interesting talk. Turned out he did paragliding too and was friends with the Chinese fellow who got killed in that cloud in Australia. This is yet another reason I won't try paragliding. I don't want to fly anything where my body forms the landing gear, nor anything whose terminal velocity is lower than the speed of updrafts in a thunderstorm.
- astrec 15y ago
  Interesting. I had a friend come back from a flying trip to China a few weeks ago and he said much the same thing - not common and too hard logistically. It's not the sport for everyone, that's for sure. I love it, and am never quite so happily as when the vario is screaming, although I'll admit it's 98% bliss and 2% pure terror. It's worth mentioning that a CuNim will happily break a 747 too - that's why all aircraft give them a wide berth. In Manilla it was a case of competitive pilots taking disproportionate risks. Based on the photos I've seen of that day, I think a lesser pilot such as myself would never even have launched.
  - 15y ago

bryanh 15y ago

I'm so glad Alan is back and doing these again, after the book came out he kind of dropped off the edge of the Earth. Definitely one of the few sites I checked regularly.

cromulent 15y ago

This sounds horrendous. I've fallen through rain clouds more than a few times, which is painful but bearable, and hail once, which is not. Don't jump through green clouds if you can avoid it.

ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago

http://xkcd.com/962 http://xkcd.com/962 http://explainxkcd.com/2011/10/10/the-corliss-resolution http://explainxkcd.com/2011/10/10/the-corliss-resolution