How Rain May Affect Aircraft Performance

To my mind, only a couple of decent reasons exist to fly through rain: First, because your destination is out there in or beyond the precip-and its light rain and not far through it, at that; second, because youre too cheap or lazy to wash the plane normally. Otherwise, rain stands among those conditions to not take lightly-and on many fronts, to be taken as a condition to avoid as much as possible. When you think about it systematically, a lot goes on with the airplane when exposed to rain and-aside from the possibility of improved cooling on a hot day-its difficult to conjure up much to commend rain flying to anyone. But, we know youre going to fly in the rain; we do, too, but begrudgingly and guardedly-or avoid it if the datalink weather returns show orange or red. So instead of saying, "Dont do what we do, have done, and will probably do again," we offer five strong reasons to make you think about whats happening to the aircraft when flown in rain.

Key Takeaways:

• Flying in rain introduces several mechanical risks, including potential water damage to moisture-sensitive components like electrical systems and the pitot/static system, and water ingress into fuel tanks.
• Rain can degrade an aircraft's structural integrity by accumulating in control surfaces, adding weight and affecting balance, while also significantly worsening aerodynamic performance by reducing lift, increasing drag, and raising stall speeds.
• Weather systems that produce rain often bring turbulent conditions, including dangerous downdrafts and microbursts, which can rapidly decrease an aircraft's airspeed and altitude, posing a critical safety hazard, particularly near the ground.

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