travelinandgolfin

I've heard, front, over wings, back of plane, closest to the engine.

What's your opinion?

TC

The farther forward, the better. There's a reason they put First Class in the front of the plane.

easytraveler

The smoothest ride is in the part of the plane or boat that has the least up and down and sideways motion. That would be right towards the middle part.

I've been on countless boat/plane/ship/kayak/bobbling things. Just put me as close to the middle as possible, hand me a drink, and I'm happy! Water is the best drink on planes. [You thought I was going to say some other kind of drink?]

djkbooks

Well, if the plane crashes - into a mountain, a hillside, the water...obviously those up front are the first to feel the impact, though not by much.

If you mean turbulance, do you think there's a difference depending upon your seat location?

atilla

The overhead luggage stowaway compartment.

soccr

First, have you ever made a balsa wood glider, or even a paper airplane? First question is where it gets its lift, second where it gets its thrust (forward impulse). The wings give it lift, so you can imagine the plane "hanging" in air from the wings. Now imagine the plane as a boat in water and think of how different sized waves would affect it. People tell you the smoothest ride in a boat is as close to the middle (side to side and front to back) and as close to the water line as possible -- so think of the wings as the water line for a plane. Large air currents (like swells in the water) lift the whole plane together, but more "gusty" turbulence can rock the plane erratically around its various axes.

Now as to where it gets its thrust -- the engine moves it forward and in the process creates the source of the direction of motion, which kind of "anchors" it. Think of the big outboard motors on a cigarette boat -- when they rev up, what happens to the boat?

I wish I could DRAW all this, but I hope it helps you make sense of it. That's why I wrote in the other post that if the engines are on the wings, you'll get the most stable ride more or less on the wing, in between the engines. If the engines aren't on the wing, the whole plane may "swim" a bit more relative to the engine or a point between the engines, but the wings will still provide some stability.

I loved the old 707s with two engines on each of the huge wings; hate being in the tail of 747s because they're so huge, they can create their own turbulence by the time the tail moves through the air churned up by the engines.

Finally, they put First Class in the front because they're quickest on and off the plane and because they won't be subject to a lot of aisle traffic. Also they don't usually need as much weight (as many bodies) in the front. It has nothing to do with stability -- sometimes they get the worst of it.

seetheworld

soccr: An A+ answer! My answer would have been "On the tarmack, pulling into the gate!"

Gardyloo

You want to be at the fulcrum of all possible levers - yaw, pitch, roll. The plane, being a (hopefully) somewhat rigid tube mounted on springy wings, will pivot about its center of gravity, generally right around the tailing edge of the wings. While the angles described by the above listed yaw, pitch, roll, will be the same, the distance traversed by the center will be the shortest, thus the "smoothest."

Short answer, good on boats and planes: midships.

travelinandgolfin

Plane we're on has the engines on the wing.

We're pretty much right between the wings and the tail; window, aisle. Haven't flown a long trip (5 hours) in a while, so I was curious.

Thanks for the replys.

gypsy

atilla -
i tried that one time, but i couldn't fit in the little display basket that they use for measurement of what can fit in overhead...
so now i'm working on 'under the seat...'

Waldo

The inside

GoTravel

Waldo,

I don't notice much of a difference in the ride but I can tell you it is always hotter in the back of the plane that the front. Have no idea why.

stellaluna

i honestly can't remember the last time i experienced a smooth ride on a plane! every single time, no matter where i sit, there is turbulence of varying degrees. it can be a ride of 45 minutes or 6 hours. never smooth! i must be a turbulence magnet!

Sunnyboy

I'm not an engineer but thought I'd add my $.02. I travel often (elite status for many years) and found that some trips are smooth and some have turbulance. No way of telling what shows up on any given day. Unless you are fliying in extreme weather conditions (not very likely) the turbulance is usually very brief and not enough to even worry about. More often than not it's over before the FA has finished making the announcement that pilot turned on the Fasten Seat Belt Sign. That said, it stands to reason that the most stable area would be mid-cabin over the wing but you'll still feel the bumbs when they come.

soccr

I like some of these answers ("on the tarmac") better than mine. But it's certainly worth saying that the differences in bumpiness among various seating locations are really not all that perceptible. If the front's bouncing, the back will be too.

And it's also true that most turbulence lasts less than 20 min. and that you're more likely to experience turbulence a) in late spring and summer (in the US), b) after noon (rising heat creates thermals, storms), c) over the Rockies or at low altitudes (and certainly you hope you won't be at low altitudes in the Rockies ;-) !).

soccr

http://www.weather.com/activities/aviation/

That is a webpage that I consult before I fly -- scroll down over the options below the map to see what you can look at. Includes a "potential turbulence" map for lower altitudes, which reminds me that I should add that usually you'll bounce more on take-off and especially on landing than any other time in the flight.

bigboy72712

Damn, Soccr is Smart.

mollynandy

I haven't really noticed a difference. I mainly go by www.seatguru.com to pick my seats. I'm more worried about legroom and seat recline. If there is turbulence, everyone's going to feel no matter where they are.