HOW HAS THE TRIPLE DIGIT SUMMER IMPACTED YOUR FLYING PLANS?

[DCarlton]

Soul searching.  Had plans to fly more this summer and I find myself once again pursuing other hobbies when it's hot.  Had a chance to fly to Phoenix this week and aborted due to the forecast 100 deg temps on my departure day.  Ended up driving and enjoying the A/C.  Chose bladders over a tank reseal to avoid monsoon season and the triple digit journey to MN through NM and TX.  Starting to wonder if it's time to hang it up.   Planning to see what happens between now and my annual but it's making less and less sense to hang on to the plane just to maintain it and maintain flight currency.  What are folks doing around the rest of the country in this heat?  

[KLRDMD]

12 minutes ago, DCarlton said:

Had a chance to fly to Phoenix this week and aborted due to the forecast 100 deg temps on my departure day.  What are folks doing around the rest of the country in this heat?  

If it is below 100º, fly. 100º-110º, only if I have to. Above 110º I really don't want to go.

[McMooney]

I just fly earlier, higher or sweatier, no magic

[Hank]

Altitude is great! But eventually you have to come back down . . . .

[McMooney]

24 minutes ago, McMooney said:

I just fly earlier, higher or sweatier, no magic

ok, after about 110, there's a whole lot of cursing involved and i'd better be going on a trip, no putzing around at low altitudes when it's this hot

[MikeOH]

Early morning breakfast runs

Pick a destination near the coast; did Camarillo on Sunday morning.

[bigmo]

I just fly at night. Cooler, better air, and easy to get where I want direct without vectors all over the place. Midwest summers (specifically June - August) are just fun in the day. I've generally quit flying "for fun" - so I just get up as high as I can. I've got a knack for knowing when the wind sheer will make flying a pain (and my wife just can't tolerate the bumps).

It was 46 yesterday morning, so we're about to enter the best flying season of the year.

[Hank]

2 minutes ago, bigmo said:

It was 46 yesterday morning, so we're about to enter the best flying season of the year.

Bbb-bbb-rrrrrrr-rrrr!!!

Lift is good in cold weather, but preflight and taxi out suck!!

Fortunately I no longer have to deal with that very much. Although Christmas before last, it was innthe teens when I took off, and a whopping 20°F with wind in the teens at my destination. Thankfully it didn't last very long.

But even when the temp is 96°, and it's much hotter on the runway, it is often comfortably cool at 7500 and up; my wife has sweated out departures with me, then turned on the heat in cruise. And yes, I always turn it back off during descent! 

[Ragsf15e]

I leave early and plan to be down before noon.  Family can tolerate it fine where it’s cool at higher altitudes and we’re only on the ground a short time around noon to unpack.  Lots of good trips!

[EricJ]

In AZ we just deal with it.   I generally fly in the mornings and take the B-Kool along.   I did a four-hour trip a week and a half ago which included stopping in Seligman for lunch, and then returning to DVT (Phoenix) afterward, and the B-Kool was still frozen enough to keep the cabin cool for landing and taxi to the pump and then the hangar.   It's a lot less fun without that.

Many of the flight schools around here have AC in their airplanes, even the Archers, but some don't.    They still fly, they just suck it up.   Kinda brutal, but they do it.

 

[DCarlton]

41 minutes ago, MikeOH said:

Early morning breakfast runs

Pick a destination near the coast; did Camarillo on Sunday morning.

Flew up to Camarillo a few weeks ago and there was a line out the door and down the sidewalk for the restaurant.  I may try one more time on a day other than Sunday.  

[DCarlton]

1 hour ago, KLRDMD said:

If it is below 100º, fly. 100º-110º, only if I have to. Above 110º I really don't want to go.

100 was my cut off too when I was younger… 

[hammdo]

I fly earlier but in Texas as is AZ, you roll with it if you want to fly. 

-Don

[DCarlton]

23 minutes ago, Ragsf15e said:

I leave early and plan to be down before noon.  Family can tolerate it fine where it’s cool at higher altitudes and we’re only on the ground a short time around noon to unpack.  Lots of good trips!

With one hop that works great.  

[DCarlton]

29 minutes ago, EricJ said:

In AZ we just deal with it.   I generally fly in the mornings and take the B-Kool along.   I did a four-hour trip a week and a half ago which included stopping in Seligman for lunch, and then returning to DVT (Phoenix) afterward, and the B-Kool was still frozen enough to keep the cabin cool for landing and taxi to the pump and then the hangar.   It's a lot less fun without that.

Many of the flight schools around here have AC in their airplanes, even the Archers, but some don't.    They still fly, they just suck it up.   Kinda brutal, but they do it.

 

I’ll take a look at a B Kool.  We drove over for the ASU game Saturday night and my wife started feeling bad after the wind died down.  It was hot.  I couldn’t see flying her out of Phoenix when it was going to be a 100 early.  I’ve done it many times solo but it wasn’t fun and I was 10 years younger.  

[MikeOH]

37 minutes ago, DCarlton said:

Flew up to Camarillo a few weeks ago and there was a line out the door and down the sidewalk for the restaurant.  I may try one more time on a day other than Sunday.  

LOL!

Well, I'm afraid to tell you the line is there pretty much every day at Waypoint Cafe!  Thing is, the line moves pretty fast; my wife and I only waited about 10 minutes on Sunday.

[Sue Bon]

I've had the opposite problem this year. Rain and TS basically every day. If I'm not available for the maybe two nice hours in a three week span, then I don't fly for weeks on end.

Last year was so nice! I've flown less than half of the hours I'd flown by this time last year.

It's so frustrating that I'm also wondering if maybe I should just do something else. It's almost impossible to stay current with these weather conditions. But I really do love to fly and can't imagine life on the ground.

Maybe next year will be nice again.

[Paul Thomas]

When going on trips, I fly higher and try to keep as much altitude as much as I can. When I fly locally, I try to fly early in the morning. I would like to work on my commercial certificate but will wait until this winter for cooler weather. I overheated and made myself sick the other day. I always make sure to have cold water in the airplane and I've looked at cooling vests. I'm currently subletting a hangar and there is not much extra space; once I have my own, I'll have a freezer and buy a couple of vests.

I'm also very cognizant of the impact of the sun on the airplane. Once I pull the airplane out of the hangar, I try to start up and get moving ASAP. I'll often request the short runway because it's a shorter taxi, I'm less likely to find flight school airplanes in the runup area, and can often depart quicker.

[IvanP]

Summer temps in the 100 - 110s are common in Nor Cal. Mostly dry heat. Flew to L.A. last weekend - it was 109 on Friday when we landed at KWHP and muggy. It was close to 100 when we were departing on Sunday.  I usualy plan early departure, if possible, and climb high. Bravo has the advantage here. Still have to deal with the heat when coming down, though, but that is not as bad as doing pre-flight and fueling in 110 heat.  

[Skates97]

10 hours ago, DCarlton said:

Flew up to Camarillo a few weeks ago and there was a line out the door and down the sidewalk for the restaurant.  I may try one more time on a day other than Sunday.  

Go to Santa Paula instead. Food is just as good, there is very little wait, and it's a great little airport with some of the cheapest fuel around.

[Will.iam]

For Texas this has been one of the coolest summers in a long time. Only had over 100 degrees for a week and high 90s for August now in September already getting cooler mornings was 68 this morning with a high of 90 that is awesome compared to still being at 90 last year damn near November. I remember mom baking pies for thanks giving and setting them outside to keep refrigerated as it was always close to freezing my thanksgiving but last year they would have been still hot. Hoping this year will be cold like years ago. But as for hot summer time we fly at night and play at night sleep during the hot summer day like a possum. 

[MooneyMitch]

3 hours ago, Skates97 said:

Go to Santa Paula instead. Food is just as good, there is very little wait, and it's a great little airport with some of the cheapest fuel around.

Yes on Santa Paula.  In my opinion, a much more interesting airport.  If you hit the right Sunday display day, take a walk up and down the hangar rows on the west side.....some fun stuff to see.  Non towered airport and lots of activity on the weekends.......pay attention.  Don't let the mountains on the south side of the airport intimidate you.............it's fun!!

[NickG]

I fly out of Las Vegas. The heat is insufferable. I plan as many XC as possible because local flying is awful. Heat, bad turbulence and loads of pop up thunderstorms and then howling winds. On the other hand, my Ovation loves me because of the long XC’s (two trip to Texas, and back in the last 3 weeks). Despite the heat, I’ve managed to rack up nearly 90 hours since I bought the Ovation end of May. I wish I could get a hangar but that’s not really realistic at Henderson. 

I fly quite a bit to LA and back (1hr 20 or so each way) and the Southern Cal weather is spectacular for flying when compared to Vegas. However, I lived in SoCal for 30+ years and the cost and traffic is a compelling reason not to move back! 

[KLRDMD]

30 minutes ago, NickG said:

I fly out of Las Vegas. The heat is insufferable. I plan as many XC as possible because local flying is awful. Heat, bad turbulence and loads of pop up thunderstorms and then howling winds. On the other hand, my Ovation loves me because of the long XC’s (two trip to Texas, and back in the last 3 weeks). Despite the heat, I’ve managed to rack up nearly 90 hours since I bought the Ovation end of May. I wish I could get a hangar but that’s not really realistic at Henderson. 

I'm now flying back and forth weekly between Tucson and Las Vegas. Hot to hotter. The hangar situation is ridiculous there and shade tie-downs aren't much better. There's even a waitlist for open tie-downs at VGT. The best I can do for now is an open tie-down at HND. And I've been on wait lists for over a year and a half.

[BlueSky247]

@EricJ My flight school has two archers, both with ac. Here in Georgia, it gets mighty toasty, but those units at least take the edge off in cruise. They pretty much have to stay off during pattern work as they make the plane even more gutless. When I flew my first solo xc, I perspired mightily during that remote landing and taxi back because I didn't want to risk forgetting to turn it back off.