What is an Environmental factor that affects aircraft performance?

  What is an Environmental factor that affects aircraft performance?


As you may know, there are multiple environmental factors that affect the performance of an aircraft. Today I'm going to talk about one, in particular, Hail. Hail is essentially lumps or balls of frozen raindrops that fall in showers from cumulonimbus clouds, these clouds alone can be overwhelming. Ranging in size from the more commonly experienced hail of about a quarter-inch to about four and a half inches, which is larger than a baseball!  Did you know that hail less than two inches in size can travel anywhere from 25-40 MPH and two inches and larger can travel at speeds of 44-72 MPH!? (NOAA) Hail's number one related issue to aviation is damage, from its size to its speed hail can be detrimental.


If this were to collide with an aircraft windshield it would crack decreasing visibility, even worse than that would be damage to the engine during flight. Inlet guide vanes and compressor blades have an increased chance of breaking especially due to hail damage. If these blades break off they could be ingested further into the engine causing even more failure and damage, not to mention possibly discharging into the aircraft's fuselage. Hail is a shared obstacle due to its unexpected nature, even seeing it is difficult until it's too late, imagine a night flight!? 

There are FAA guidelines on how to avoid thunderstorms which must be adhered to for safety. In addition to the guidelines, advanced flight planning, up-to-date weather technology, and great communication between the pilot and air traffic control will assist in avoiding and maneuvering safely through an incident. Historically, 20 nautical miles have been the guidance to pilots allowing for plenty of separation between the activities in and around the storm and the aircraft itself. (IATA, 2016)



References:

Hail Basics. NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/hail/#:~:text=For%20hailstones%20that%20one%20would%20typically%20see%20in,fall%20speed%20is%20between%2044%20and%2072%20mph.

IATA. (2016). Environmental Factors Affecting Loss of Control In-Flight: Best Practice for Threat Recognition & Management. Retrieved from https://flightsafety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IATA-guidance-loci-environmental-factors-affecting-loci-1st-edition.pdf


Images found:

Brennan, C. (2015, August 9). Delta Airlines pilots make emergency landing after hail storm cracked windshield. Daily Mail Online. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3190510/Delta-flight-make-blind-emergency-landing-hail-storm-gives-plane-cracked-windshield-damaged-nose.html.

Staff, K. C. E. N. (2019, April 17). How does hail form, and what size should we be concerned about? kcentv.com. Retrieved from https://www.kcentv.com/article/weather/how-does-hail-form-and-what-size-should-we-be-concerned-about/500-442697a2-eaa5-4e72-a7fb-04bf7f9dc42d. 

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