The Vestiby System

Ah, studying.

How I thoroughly enjoy every second of knowledge that I gain.
Wish it came in an easier format.  Like SpongeBob or something.

However, today, I studied something particularly interesting.  I’ve read the section a hundred times, and have even been tested on it about that many times.  But for some reason, it really stuck out to me today.

It was a section on common illusions that pilots encounter.  Illusions that can majorly affect your landing, or make you feel like you’re making a right turn when you’re flying straight.  Obviously, these are no good, so it is best to avoid them if at all possible. 

The most common flight illusion is referred to as “The Leans,” and it is exactly as it sounds.  The pilot feels as if they are leaning in one direction or another.  Their perception (the body’s conception of its surroundings through physical touch, [Webster, 1960]) is being tricked by the vestibular system.

Break down on the Vestiby System (not a technical term) –

So pretty much, your inner ear is really complicated.  You have these canals, and tubes, and all sorts of stuff in there, including little hairs (which is, quite frankly, incredibly disgusting).  These little hairs are attached to nerves that send sensations to your brain for interpretation.  When you move, or hear, this gelatinous substance lined with otoliths (which are micro-sized bits of limestone) moves or vibrates.  This fluid moves the hairs, the hairs send it to the brain and the brain tells you what you’re doing or hearing (Jeppesen, 2006).

The first hundred times I read that, I really thought nothing of it.  It just grossed me out.  But today, for some reason, it made me think of how awesome our bodies are.  All of that is happening on such an extremely tiny scale, but it makes all the difference in the world. 

So anyways, when you’re flying, the fluid in your ears moves around and you can feel when you’re turning, unless you’re turning really slowly.  Then that fluid lags behind.  So when the pilot’s turn is for a long period of time and then they level off, they feel like they’re turning.  Oftentimes, they try to correct based off of this, and end up either extremely off course or in some cases, running into something (FAA, 2008).

Don’t worry, this only happens at night or in the clouds, and most pilots are smart enough to know that you always fly based off of your instruments, not your feelings. 

Incredible, right? To think, that your body is full of these itty-bitty nerves and receptors that are all trained to stimulate from some form of change and then send a signal to your head and register as a sensation (Webster, 1960)

Maybe I’m alone in this and I need to get out of the house more.  My textbooks are actually starting to entertain me.

    Guided Flight Discovery: Instrument/Commercial. (2006). Englewood, CO: Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc..

Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. (2008). Oklahoma City, OK: U.S. Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (College ed.). (1960). Cleveland, OH: The World Publishing Company.