This is long over due but summer is finally here. You have to love the benefits that come with summer in Grand Forks, ND. We finally don’t have to carry/wear our boots to go flying, no bulky jacket, gloves, and hat. No frostbite while you are pre-flighting the aircraft.
There are finally clouds that tower above you and lightning and rain. Gotta love it!! T-shirts and shorts(not at work of course). Grilling out and bonfires. Motorcycle rides. Pontoons and tubing.
But you also have to take the bad that comes with summer. The heat, the storms, the bugs, and the sweating. The heat definitely plays a major factor in performance during the summer months. In the winter with a fully loaded warrior you can still expect to get about 700 FPM climb rate on take off climb. Yesterday, with a fully loaded Warrior I didn’t think we would get to 3,500’ before we hit Canada, we were climbing like a rock. Not only is it the heat it is also the humidity which ruins your performance.
Another big issue in the summer is storms. A few days ago I was getting ready to go on a XC flight with a student to Alexandria, Crookston and then back to Grand Forks. The weather at the time was very unstable; a low pressure system was to the north of us with a trough to the south which was combining to create some pretty nasty storms. However, during our planning it looked like we would be able to make it to Alexandria and back before the storms hit.
So we decided to go ahead and get an aircraft book, call and file our IFR flight plans and get ready to head to the aircraft. I suggest we take one last look at the weather before we leave and sure enough new TAF’s our out along with up dated radar images. The TAF’s are now predicting storms through the duration of our flight. The latest radar shows that a cell is starting to build up right next to the Alexandria airport.
Okay, time to reevaluate our flight. With the new TAF’s, Radar, and an updated call to the FSS station we decided to cancel our flight. It ended up that we made a pretty good decision. When I got home I checked the radar at about the time we would have been in AXN and there is a HUGE thunderstorm that has tops at 40,000’ MSL and is producing hail.
Summer is a great time to fly, open the windows and doors and just enjoy the beautiful scenery. Any pilot who flies in the summer also needs to be aware of the hazards associated with summer flying including poor performance and unpredictable weather. Enjoy your summer.
There are finally clouds that tower above you and lightning and rain. Gotta love it!! T-shirts and shorts(not at work of course). Grilling out and bonfires. Motorcycle rides. Pontoons and tubing.
But you also have to take the bad that comes with summer. The heat, the storms, the bugs, and the sweating. The heat definitely plays a major factor in performance during the summer months. In the winter with a fully loaded warrior you can still expect to get about 700 FPM climb rate on take off climb. Yesterday, with a fully loaded Warrior I didn’t think we would get to 3,500’ before we hit Canada, we were climbing like a rock. Not only is it the heat it is also the humidity which ruins your performance.
Another big issue in the summer is storms. A few days ago I was getting ready to go on a XC flight with a student to Alexandria, Crookston and then back to Grand Forks. The weather at the time was very unstable; a low pressure system was to the north of us with a trough to the south which was combining to create some pretty nasty storms. However, during our planning it looked like we would be able to make it to Alexandria and back before the storms hit.
So we decided to go ahead and get an aircraft book, call and file our IFR flight plans and get ready to head to the aircraft. I suggest we take one last look at the weather before we leave and sure enough new TAF’s our out along with up dated radar images. The TAF’s are now predicting storms through the duration of our flight. The latest radar shows that a cell is starting to build up right next to the Alexandria airport.
Okay, time to reevaluate our flight. With the new TAF’s, Radar, and an updated call to the FSS station we decided to cancel our flight. It ended up that we made a pretty good decision. When I got home I checked the radar at about the time we would have been in AXN and there is a HUGE thunderstorm that has tops at 40,000’ MSL and is producing hail.
Summer is a great time to fly, open the windows and doors and just enjoy the beautiful scenery. Any pilot who flies in the summer also needs to be aware of the hazards associated with summer flying including poor performance and unpredictable weather. Enjoy your summer.
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