Ten most bumpy routes in China fly from Chengdu to Lhasa.

The route from Chengdu to Lhasa, Tibet is one of the most bumpy routes in China. The flight distance from Chengdu to Lhasa is 1300km, and the flight time is about two and a half hours, which belongs to the plateau route.

Briefly introduce the characteristics of Chengdu-Lhasa route. Chengdu to Lhasa is from 104 degrees east longitude to 9/kloc-0 degrees east longitude and 3/kloc-0 degrees north latitude to 29 degrees north latitude. The flight altitude is between 10200m and 10800m. The biggest feature of this route is bumps. The reason for the turbulence of this route is closely related to the latitude of the route and the topographical features of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The main cause of aircraft turbulence is atmospheric turbulence. Atmospheric turbulence can be divided into four types: thermal turbulence, dynamic turbulence, clear sky turbulence and wake vortex turbulence. Let's learn about these four kinds of turbulence one by one according to the characteristics of the route from Chengdu to Lhasa.

I. Thermal turbulence

Thermal turbulence is a kind of turbulence caused by thermal convection. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has high altitude, thin atmosphere, strong solar radiation, large surface fluctuation and uneven heating, especially in the afternoon, which easily leads to large temperature difference between the surface and near-surface layer and thermal turbulence. However, the air layer on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is generally unstable, which makes the heat convection energy rise to a higher height, so this greatly threatens the aircraft on the route and causes serious bumps.

Second, dynamic turbulence.

Dynamic turbulence is caused by the roughness of the underlying surface, which usually shows low-altitude turbulence, and its turbulence intensity is determined by wind speed and ground roughness. The ground inside the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is rough, undulating and windy, which is prone to dynamic bumps and poses a great threat to the take-off and landing of aircraft.

Third, clear sky turbulence.

Clear-sky turbulence generally refers to turbulence over 6000 meters, which has nothing to do with convective clouds. Clear-sky turbulence generally does not appear as an obvious weather phenomenon. Therefore, it is not easy for pilots to detect, which is a huge potential threat to the flight safety of aircraft. Strong wind shear often occurs near the upper jet stream. The occurrence of clear-sky turbulence is closely related to strong wind shear, and clear-sky turbulence mostly occurs on land routes, especially in mountainous areas. In winter, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is located in the strong westerly belt, and there are strong horizontal wind shear and vertical wind shear in the jet stream, so the probability of clear-sky turbulence on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is greatly increased.

Fourthly, wake vortex turbulence

Wake is also called wake, because the wake behind the aircraft is produced by wing tip vortex, so the strength of wake directly depends on the strength of induced drag. On the low-density route from Chengdu to Lhasa, the probability of wake turbulence is small, and the interval between flights is guaranteed to be at a sufficient safe distance, so the wake of the previous aircraft has little influence on the latter aircraft, and the turbulence from Chengdu to Lhasa is rarely caused by wake turbulence.

However, due to the four reasons and characteristics of turbulence, the route from Chengdu to Lhasa has become one of the most bumpy routes in China due to its own special reasons.