Preparing for density altitude when you fly this summer means always crunching the numbers.
[Credit: Shutterstock]
Key Takeaways:
Density altitude, caused by high temperatures, humidity, or elevation, significantly degrades aircraft performance by increasing takeoff/landing distances and reducing climb rates.
Pilots must meticulously calculate aircraft performance using POHs, apps, and E6-Bs, considering factors like weight, runway conditions, and specific aircraft notes, to ensure safety.
Underestimating density altitude can lead to critical safety issues, such as being unable to take off, as illustrated by an incident where pilots were stranded.
It is crucial for pilots to learn from experience and establish conservative personal limitations for flying in high density altitude conditions.
Has density altitude affected your flight plans recently? Do you plan for it when you create those summertime flight plans?
I ask because as I write this column Seattle is under a heat advisory. Temperatures are expected to reach into the 90s—for us that’s hot. We wear our Birkenstocks without socks. Lattes are served over ice. Even the salmon in the streams are sweating.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
![Preparing for density altitude when you fly this summer means always crunching the numbers. [Credit: Shutterstock]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/shutterstock_522990391.jpg)
