Never thought it'd be just too darn hot to fly, then summer came.

[McMooney]

I've cancelled flights due to cold, ice, rain, never figured too much sun would have me sitting here wishing i could fly.  

Summer only just started btw.

 

share some flying stories for those of us sitting on the bench

[Skates97]

It's just a little bit of sweat!

Talk to all the guys in AZ. I have done pre-flight on the plane there when I had to wear gloves because the skin of the plane was too hot to set my hand on it.

[ilovecornfields]

Ever have your wing tiedown chain melt into the asphalt?

[KLRDMD]

26 minutes ago, McMooney said:

I've cancelled flights due to cold, ice, rain, never figured too much sun would have me sitting here wishing i could fly.  Summer only just started btw.

I rarely cancel a flight due to heat, but then again I rarely schedule it in the first place when that's an issue. I do close to zero hours between June/July/August combined.

[redbaron1982]

I remember when I did flight school in Houston, out of KDWH, which can get really busy, sometimes waiting 20 or 30 minutes for departure, being number 4 or number 5, with a lot of traffic coming in too. I think on each of those flights I lost 2 or 3 pounds of just water.

[GeeBee]

I canceled a flight once because the temp exceeded our performance charts.

 

[Hank]

I was a static display plane at a flight show one balmy June weekend. Temps were high 90s when I departed that evening, must have been 115° on the taxiways and runway. I was sweating like a pig.. But at 9500 msl a few minutes later, 59° sure felt good!

[Skates97]

1 hour ago, GeeBee said:

I canceled a flight once because the temp exceeded our performance charts.

 

A few years ago they had commercial flights that couldn't leave PHX because it was hotter than what they had performance charts for.

[GeeBee]

16 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

A few years ago they had commercial flights that couldn't leave PHX because it was hotter than what they had performance charts for.

Usually that is because the airline failed to buy the numbers but sometimes it even goes beyond the manufacturer's numbers as it did in my case. We just waited until night. Cools off fast in dry air!

[EricJ]

53 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

A few years ago they had commercial flights that couldn't leave PHX because it was hotter than what they had performance charts for.

Sky Harbor (aka Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport) shut down completely for departing flights in 1990 when it hit 122F.   At that time the relevant charts stopped below that, and nobody was willing to make an extrapolation.    That has since been corrected, but once in a while sombody still hits a published operating limitation.

That was one of those days where everybody remembers where they were.   I'd only *just* moved back after grad school...eep.

https://kjzz.org/content/158320/record-heat-grounded-planes-phoenix-25-years-ago-today

[MikeOH]

The company I worked for at the time had a factory in Mexicali and I was needed to support a production start up. So, not yet an aircraft owner, I rented a Mooney ( what else!) and flew down to Calexico (directly across the border from Mexicali) EARLY one fine summer morning. Well, come time for the return trip it was 125F in the shade….and the plane was NOT tied down in the shade

I nearly burned my hands off doing the pre-flight but the real fun started when I climbed inside what was now an Easy-Bake oven; I have no idea what the temp was…. I immediately began sweating at some level way past profusely! Shirt was already soaked front and back from the pre-flight, but now sweat beads formed all over my face and forehead and all began dripping simultaneously into my eyes and all over the chart in my lap.

Naturally, the wind was such that I had to taxi the near 5,000 foot runway length before departing.  Let’s just say that was the one time I did a less than a proper run-up!

 I was much younger and, I like to think, considerably dumber, but in hindsight I was probably pushing a case of heat stroke. The prudent thing would have been to spend the night in enticing <sarcasm> Calexico and left the next morning ( was not night current)

NEVER again.

[exM20K]

3 hours ago, ilovecornfields said:

Ever have your wing tiedown chain melt into the asphalt?

Ha.  It’s not hot until you can’t tell if the grill is on.

-dan

[A64Pilot]

In Summer you fly early, or late or at night, nights were my favorite. I love Summer. I think I’m allergic to cold.

But as we used to say in Tx, climb and maintain 70, 70 referencing OAT of course

[A64Pilot]

3 hours ago, ilovecornfields said:

Ever have your wing tiedown chain melt into the asphalt?

In Kuwait we had to park the aircraft on 2x2 pieces of plywood or the wheels would sink into the new asphalt, of course we found that out the hard way

[exM20K]

4 hours ago, McMooney said:

I've cancelled flights due to cold, ice, rain, never figured too much sun would have me sitting here wishing i could fly.  

Summer only just started btw.

 

share some flying stories for those of us sitting on the bench

I’m a fan of the B-kool device, but it won’t cool a heat-soaked plane. We left the plane in the sun one summer out west for 3-4 hours with sun shades, and trying to pre-cool the cabin with a 20# bag of ice didn’t work.  The 20 minute trip from SLC or Ogden to Provo really, really sucked.

it was only slightly better than the evaporative vests sold for motorcycling.  They work well enough (subject to humidity) but when they’re done, they’re done, and now you’re wearing a vest.

-dan

[ArtVandelay]

Heat alone won’t, I fly in the mornings, but forecast like this will:

[midlifeflyer]

One of the airplanes I fly is a DA40. You can just imagine the effect of the sun streaming (and steaming) through a closed bubble canopy (fortunately one of the has air conditioning). My solution was an in-ear headset. Being able to add shade via a wide brim floppy hat turned out to be an even bigger help than I expected.

Then, of course, is the density altitude problem. One of the schools I flew with in Denver has a limit of 90°F (about 9000' D-Alt on the ground) for most if the fleet.

[aviatoreb]

2 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

One of the airplanes I fly is a DA40. You can just imagine the effect of the sun streaming (and steaming) through a closed bubble canopy (fortunately one of the has air conditioning). My solution was an in-ear headset. Being able to add shade via a wide brim floppy hat turned out to be an even bigger help than I expected.

Then, of course, is the density altitude problem. One of the schools I flew with in Denver has a limit of 90°F (about 9000' D-Alt on the ground) for most if the fleet.

I used to own a DA40.  Even up here at the Northern Border, it was a bit much.  It would make moderate days into hot days.  I really was happy to have a roof to the airplane when I got this Mooney.  Even though it is lovely to have the bubble canopy - once the novelty wears off - it is just a lot of sun. and heat.  On the flip side - its nice solar heat in the winter.

[N201MKTurbo]

It was the last day of July 2016. The last day possible for me to take my ATP checkride (the rules changed the next day) the only time I could get with the examiner was 2:00 in the afternoon, it was 114 out side. The examiner knew what to do, he slid two frozen water bottles down his shirt.

I am likely the last person to get his ATP by the old rules.

[A64Pilot]

I used to bicycle a lot in Tx around 1990 or so, That’s where Camel Backs came from, they had a new one called an ice back, the top was insulated like normal, but the part that laid on your back was just mesh, having cold ice water laying on your spine really seemed to help a lot.

Sadly it seems for some reason it’s no longer made

[DCarlton]

Anyone have personal limits in mind for max OAT for departure?  Years back, while making repeated flights to PHX for work, I decided anything over 100 was too hot for me especially if there was much taxi time involved.  And even then, I only did it when I was by myself; never with two people sandwiched in the front.  

[EricJ]

15 minutes ago, DCarlton said:

Anyone have personal limits in mind for max OAT for departure?  Years back, while making repeated flights to PHX for work, I decided anything over 100 was too hot for me especially if there was much taxi time involved.  And even then, I only did it when I was by myself; never with two people sandwiched in the front.  

We wouldn't fly much at all here in the summer if we stopped at 100F.    Having something in the cabin like a B-Kool makes a big difference.   I use it on the ground or at low altitude, but even in mid-summer once you're above about 5000 ft or so you can turn it off and be comfortable.   Travel is typically comfortable and you're usually fine until descending into the valley through about 5k', which is where the B-Kool comes back on.   Other than that stay hydrated.

I'd think an OAT limit would need to have an altitude component to it to turn it into actual density altitude.   100F here in the valley is not a big deal, but in Flagstaff, it's a little more of a concern.

[1980Mooney]

12 minutes ago, EricJ said:

We wouldn't fly much at all here in the summer if we stopped at 100F.    Having something in the cabin like a B-Kool makes a big difference.   I use it on the ground or at low altitude, but even in mid-summer once you're above about 5000 ft or so you can turn it off and be comfortable.   Travel is typically comfortable and you're usually fine until descending into the valley through about 5k', which is where the B-Kool comes back on.   Other than that stay hydrated.

I'd think an OAT limit would need to have an altitude component to it to turn it into actual density altitude.   100F here in the valley is not a big deal, but in Flagstaff, it's a little more of a concern.

That is all well and good where you are with 15-20% Relative Humidity.  I remember always having a canvas water bag in our '55 Chevy to try to stay cool.

In Houston, where the OP is, the Relative Humidity averages 75-80% year round.  During the next few days, the high is forecast to be 100+ F but still with over 50% Relative Humidity.  B-Kool is useless.  It will literally feel like it is raining inside the plane.

[Fly Boomer]

2 hours ago, 1980Mooney said:

That is all well and good where you are with 15-20% Relative Humidity.  I remember always having a canvas water bag in our '55 Chevy to try to stay cool.

In Houston, where the OP is, the Relative Humidity averages 75-80% year round.  During the next few days, the high is forecast to be 100+ F but still with over 50% Relative Humidity.  B-Kool is useless.  It will literally feel like it is raining inside the plane.

I thought those things worked like an air-to-water or air-to-ice heat exchanger?

[McMooney]

I've actually lived  in Phoenix, Florida and Texas,  flight trained in all 3.

phoenix we flew no matter what except if you were flying the diamonds, they had temp limits.

florida, didn't matter go, dodge the thunderstorm getter done. to be honest it's 98deg every day so you get used to it 

Texas, i'm probably just getting older and without some sort of mission just doesn't make sense.  could be it's so early in the summer i'm just not acclimated.