If you’ve ever found yourself white-knuckling the armrests during a bumpy flight, you need to know about a viral tip a pilot recently shared. Apparently, there is a bad spot to sit on a plane if you hate turbulence—not because it’s dangerous, but simply because it’s uncomfortable.
According to Florida-based pilot Joey Miuccio, who shared his insight on TikTok, the back of the plane is the worst possible place to park yourself. Using a simple pen trick, he demonstrated exactly why turbulence feels so chaotic 30,000 feet up.
For anyone who deals with aerophobia, those sudden drops and shakes can feel truly terrifying. Even though experts assure us that turbulence hasn’t caused a recorded plane crash in decades, that doesn’t stop your brain from panicking when the plane is tossed around like a toy. It’s a miserable experience when all you can do is hold on tight, keep your seat belt buckled, and maybe try to distract yourself with a terrible in-flight movie.
Luckily, Miuccio shared a video explaining a simple piece of physics that can make your next flight a little smoother. Pair this with the latest info on airplane coffee, and you’ll be a lot more informed next time you fly.
### Watch Where You Sit on Planes
Miuccio, who provides flying tips on TikTok under the handle @joeymiuccio, responded to a viewer’s question about the best place to sit to avoid feeling the worst of the bumps. His answer was quick and definitive: “Definitely not in the back.”
To illustrate the difference, Miuccio used what he calls the “pen trick.” He picked up a standard pen and held it horizontally in the middle, representing the center of gravity. When he shook the pen back and forth, the ends bounced and shook wildly, but the center—where he was holding it—remained relatively steady.
This is a brilliant visualization and makes total sense. The center of the pen represents the aircraft’s center of gravity, which is usually located around the wings. While the entire plane experiences turbulence, the sensation is amplified the further you are from the center.
“The back is the worst spot,” Miuccio explains. “You see the pen trick?” He continued shaking the pen to show how dramatically the “back of the plane” gets bounced around. He clarified the physics behind the feeling: “The whole plane is experiencing turbulence. But it’s worse further from the center of gravity.”
### So, Where Should You Sit?
If the back is the worst spot, where should you aim to sit on your next flight? Miuccio highly recommends booking a seat closer to the wings. Sitting directly over or slightly forward of the wings, where the plane’s center of gravity lies, will reduce the sensation of pitch and roll.
Next time you book a flight, look for seats that are right over or just ahead of the engines. You’ll definitely notice a difference in how much the plane moves, making your journey more comfortable.
https://wegotthiscovered.com/news/pilot-reveals-the-worst-spot-on-the-plane-during-turbulence-and-his-pen-trick-proves-youve-been-living-in-chaos/