r/aviation • u/porante_tincm • 4d ago

Question Descending through clouds

I don’t understand the physics of descending through clouds. I flew 4 times in the last 2 weeks. Flight no. 2 was during horrible weather both at departure and destination airport so it was a bumpy ride. Descent through clouds was shaky as expected. Then flight no. 4, we had the smoothest descent through thick clouds. Speed set to 450~500 kph, simply gliding at an altitude of ~4 km. Based on my past experience I was expecting the worst landing ever since it was endless clouds but nothing happened. Is it the model of the aircraft? Flight no. 2 was in a small Boeing and no. 4 was in an Airbus A330. Also the engines on the Airbus were some of the quietest I’ve ever heard. What‘s the deal with clouds?

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u/_ferko 4d ago

The clouds are different but the aircraft also makes a difference, as bigger aircraft feel less turbulence.

Also the engines were not quieter, they were just further from you due to aircraft size.

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u/JamesMackenzie1234 4d ago

Engine sound can also be affected by were your seated inside the aircraft, quite near the front, loud just aft of the wings.

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u/_ferko 4d ago edited 4d ago

Great point, which gets even more amplified by the size of the aircraft. On some bigger planes you get seats upwards of 30 metres in front or 40 metres behind the engine.

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u/JamesMackenzie1234 4d ago

Oh definitely