
As Jim Timm notes in his Executive Director’s report, summer is upon us with temperatures already in the triple digits. Although the warm weather doesn’t bring flying to a halt, it does shift our perspective in terms of when and where we fly with very early morning departures being the norm. It should also bring the issues associated with high temperatures and density altitudes to the forefront of our thinking when we are doing our summer flight planning.
With this in mind, I recently took the opportunity to do a refresher review of the “Performance” section of my airplanes POH. The Carbon Cub is certainly no slouch when it comes to climb and field performance. However, I know we can become complacent and assume the airplane will consistently deliver that performance in all conditions. Doing some sample takeoff and landing performance calculations at high ambient temperatures and density altitudes yields some surprising decreases in climb performance and significant increases in takeoff and landing distances. Probably not an issue in the flatlands but it certainly could be in the Arizona high country. If you haven’t taken the time to review your airplanes POH, its performance and operating practices at high density altitudes, it’s well worth the time invested.
Although the summer heat can tend to reduce flying activity, Mike McCann will be organizing some Day Trip breakfast flights to Seligman, Show Low and San Carlos – watch our FB page for updates on these events. And of course, Air Venture is right around the corner. I’ll be making the annual pilgrimage to Oshkosh, and I know that many APA members will be attending as well. Please be sure to allow some time in your schedule to stop by the Recreational Aviation Foundation booth and introduce yourself as an APA member. I’m personally very proud of the partnership we have with the RAF to maintain our backcountry resources and support General Aviation as a whole. I look forward to seeing you there!
Fly Safe!
Chris