What do Michigan men’s basketball, the new 2022 Formula 1 cars, and inexperienced pilots have in common? A porpoising problem.

Allow this history major an attempt at an aerodynamics lesson. “Porpoising” is a term for oscillations that mimic the way a swimming porpoise bobs above and below the water line. In airplanes, porpoising most commonly occurs when a pilot approaches the runway with too much speed and tries to force a touchdown when the plane still wants to stay airborne.

This usually happens with student pilots. More experienced fliers know to either carry less speed or go back around — take off again, circle around, and retry the landing — instead of risk getting caught in this loop, which can cause serious damage if the plane slams down nose-first:

The term has had a recent renaissance in Formula 1. The sport’s governing body overhauled the specifications for its cars heading into the 2022 season, which begins next week. While the sleeker vehicles have been a welcome change, most teams are scrambling for solutions to porpoising issues that emerged in preseason testing.

This looks like a deeply uncomfortable ride:

Formula 1 @F1

Bumpy road to the top for Charles Leclerc! 🤕 #F1

4:44 PM ∙ Feb 24, 2022

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You can see where I’m going with this. Michigan can’t get this dang contraption on the ground, nor have they taken off and tried again:

Michigan’s second-half collapse against Indiana also marked a month since they’ve won (or lost) consecutive games. It hasn’t been a fun way to progress through the end of the season, certainly as a fan and I’m assuming as a player or coach as well. Instead of momentum, there’s neck pain and a sense of impending doom.

Maybe there’s still runway left to take off. Maybe they’ve already smashed the landing gear. We’ll find out soon enough.