Forecasting turbulence in the search for a smoother ride

While a recent FAA story is littered with acronyms, and tends to focus on air carrier aviation, there are a few gold nuggets for those of us not flying in the flight levels.

Graphical Turbulence Guidance (GTG)

More than 1,000 aircraft in the U.S. are outfitted with a system that uses on-board sensors “to calculate a measure of the atmospheric turbulence that an aircraft is transiting.”

As of Sept. 10, 2021, those aircraft were reporting more than 68,000 measurements a day, on average, according to FAA officials. How many PIREPs have you filed?

In addition, researchers are looking into how to use ADS-B data to collect turbulence information. The nation’s large and growing base of installed ADS-B equipment has the potential to make ADS-B Turbulence a thing, FAA officials noted.

“ADS-B Turbulence is still in development, but research conducted so far has shown an accuracy in reporting turbulence encounters in space and time and in identifying encounters with turbulence.”

Generation 3 of GTG (GTG3) is operational and offers:

• 13-kilometer grid spacing for clear-air and mountain-wave turbulence
• 1,000-foot increments from the surface to 45,000 feet
• 1-hour increments (out to 18 hours)
• Accessible at https://aviationweather.gov/turbulence/gtg

Generation 4 (GTG4) is forecast, pun intended, to come online in 2023 and will add:

• Convectively induced turbulence
• A smaller 3-kilometer grid

While GTG3 and GTG4 are appropriate to flight planning, they are less useful when it comes to in-cockpit tactical decisions.

That is where GTG Now (GTGN) enters the party.

Combining the automated reporting from the more than 1,000 aircraft, PIREPs, and radar information, the hourly GTG forecast — which is updated at 15-minute intervals — produces a “nowcast.” 

“Evaluations with airline users during development were highly positive, with some crewmembers calling it a ‘game-changer.’”

I know, you don’t read General Aviation News to learn what tools the airline industry is playing with, but turbulence is never fun. And if our bigger siblings have a tool that helps them, we need to push for similar access. 

Knowing the program exists is the first step. So put on your acronym decoder ring and wade into what the FAA is doing to make your ride smoother.

A smooth ride is something everyone appreciates.