HOW HAS THE TRIPLE DIGIT SUMMER IMPACTED YOUR FLYING PLANS?

[N201MKTurbo]

I got a thermometer for my hangar. That was a mistake….

[N201MKTurbo]

My old flying buddy would always say in the summer "Climb and maintain 70 degrees"

[NickG]

28 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

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.

Yup. I’m in an open tie down at HND. 6 year wait for a shade hangar, I’m a couple of years in. They need to build more but they won’t because all of that juicy Fed coin is going into an FBO update and other amenities designed to please the Bizjet crowd. They won’t even put a restroom by the south ramp for the GA tenants. Have to walk nearly a mile to the FBO or use a small toilet by the hangars (still not close) that has been out of order for a month. BTW, I’m the AOPA volunteer at HND so I am planning on making management’s life a little more uncomfortable…

[MikeOH]

4 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.

Good idea but I've always had trouble finding parking!  Seems all the tie-downs are taken or for the flight school(s).  Are you supposed to park on the south side of the runway and then run across it to get to the restaurant??

[Skates97]

47 minutes ago, MikeOH said:

Good idea but I've always had trouble finding parking!  Seems all the tie-downs are taken or for the flight school(s).  Are you supposed to park on the south side of the runway and then run across it to get to the restaurant??

I have seen that done and done it myself a few times.

[Schllc]

South Florida isn’t much better. 
the Mooney was bad, but the Kool scoop did so well I would never buy another one with AC again. 
If you don’t have one, you don’t know what you’re missing. 
I did like some of the other folks and cut off the hinge and ground a notch so it fit perfectly. 
it brings in as much air if not more that the door cracked open. 

[Hank]

2 hours ago, BlueSky247 said:

@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. 

If you have AC, crank the engine then start AC to cool off the interior. Add "AC--OFF" to your Pre-Takeoff Checklist after control checks and before the actual runup.

I really don't need AC in cruise; just fly higher and you won't either. My wife uses a blanket and half cabin heat at 9500 msl in July and August. Even 20 minutes at 6500 can be a blessing on shorter trips.

Practicing maneuvers and doing pattern work? There's just not a lot to do . . . .

[KLRDMD]

40 minutes ago, Hank said:

I really don't need AC in cruise; just fly higher and you won't either. My wife uses a blanket and half cabin heat at 9500 msl in July and August. Even 20 minutes at 6500 can be a blessing on shorter trips.

Let's see. It hits 115ºF (46ºC) here in the summer and the field elevation is 2,940 ft. At 6,500 ft, that's 39ºC (102ºF). Not my idea of cooling off. At 9,500 ft, it is down to 33ºC (91ºF), not exactly what I would call cool either. To get down to an actual cool temperature of 65ºF (18ºC) would require a climb to 17,000 ft.

[Skates97]

1 minute ago, KLRDMD said:

Let's see. It hits 115ºF (46ºC) here in the summer and the field elevation is 2,940 ft. At 6,500 ft, that's 39ºC (102ºF). Not my idea of cooling off. At 9,500 ft, it is down to 33ºC (91ºF), not exactly what I would call cool either. To get down to an actual cool temperature of 65ºF (18ºC) would require a climb to 17,000 ft.

Yep, the southwest is a different animal.

[EricJ]

19 hours ago, KLRDMD said:

Let's see. It hits 115ºF (46ºC) here in the summer and the field elevation is 2,940 ft. At 6,500 ft, that's 39ºC (102ºF). Not my idea of cooling off. At 9,500 ft, it is down to 33ºC (91ºF), not exactly what I would call cool either. To get down to an actual cool temperature of 65ºF (18ºC) would require a climb to 17,000 ft.

Around Phoenix I'm usually turning the B-Kool off climbing out around 5-7000 feet even in the middle of the summer.    That's usually sufficiently high to get up in the cool air.    Once in a while it might be a bit higher, but not much.

[Hank]

Around here, ive rarely seen above 60°F = 15-1/2°C at 10,000 msl, even when it's 100°F or more on the ground. Waiting for traffic still 5 or 6 miles out on approach, with temp near 100, humidity in the 80s, plus the extra warmth radiating from all the concrete, is extremely uncomfortable, and also totally unrecognized by the folks in the nice air-conditioned Tower who think I can't take the runway and get away in less than 60 seconds, so I sweat and wait for 10 minutes . . . . .

Just one more reason to limit my exposure to Towered fields.