Too hot to fly...

[lee-wave]

My 300 m strip becomes increasingly marginal  2 up as the temperatures reach >30C even more so if the wind is <7knts / crosswind.   Solo is fine even with a full load of fuel now costing £2.20 per litre of Esso 99+.  So 70 litres now costs £154.  This is the only garage fuel I know of that has no methanol added even though by law Esso has to show the E5 number on the petrol pump.   Most of my flights are short bimbles around the local area.  Luckily at my strip there are no standing charges for parking.... the only task I have to carry out is making sure the cows are off the strip, strip rolled to flatten the cowpats and electric fence put up.

 

Flying of any type including airline flights is no longer a pleasure with massive delays, short notice cancellations and lack of ground staff causing hours long waits for baggage collection..... happy daze....

[Student Pilot]

At least you can go for a fly when you want, flying for the general population isn't a reality anymore in Australia.

[RFguy]

30 degrees ! 😆  .
sounds like time for a turbocharger and intercooler.

Or a one-up turbine airplane you can run on bio-diesel.

or electric conversion, since your flights are short, no issue with range.

[johnm]

2.2 pounds pounds = $ 3.86 Oz !

 

 

[RossK]

30deg C......

just a cool summer day down here 🤣

But, 300m is short.....

Edited July 11, 2022 by RossK

[facthunter]

The aeroplane feels heat as well as the engine Nev

[KRviator]

From the UK version of the NRMA I give you their average fuel prices:

Unleaded	Super Unleaded	Diesel	LPG
190.81 p/L	201 p/L	198.58 p/L	84.98 p/L

 

That's $3.34 / $3.526 & $3.483 AUD a litre!

Good thing there's not too far to fly in the UK - you'd run out of money before you run out of fuel, flamin' eck! 

Edited July 11, 2022 by KRviator

[RFguy]

I wonder if they have fuel excise on AVGAS in the UK. not here....

[lee-wave]

Currently AVgas in the UK is £2.44 which is Oz$4.31 per litre....

 

The problem with elevating temperatures, as Nev alluded to, is density altitude.  Put simply my takeoff run increases markedly with increasing temperatures to the point where an already marginal strip becomes almost unusable.  The orientation of the strip 34/07 is also awkward, which invariably means a crosswind 80% of the time.... the landing on 34 is tricky with a continuing curved approach onto an unsighted strip until on very short final making sure the right wing does impact a large tree almost in line with the strip to the S....but beggars can't be choosers.  I feel privileged to be able to operate from a strip a kilometer from where I live squashed between Heathrow to the N, Farnborough to the W and Gatwick to the S.

[RFguy]

Sounds like a tricky approach.

 

Does your strip and DA combination meet the POH minimums ? If not, you might have insurance issues if there was an accident. It's one thing to operate very occasionally from a strip that doesn't meet POH requirements, but it is a bigger problem from an insurance POV,  IMO to operate as a home base from a strip that does not meet the POH minimums.

 

if it does sometimes and not other times, you might well be served by keeping a log book of your DA calculations for each flight, showing the insurance company or regulator that you have been doing the calculations and assessing compliance against the limitations of the aircraft as described in the POH  and are very aware of the potential problems.

Edited July 11, 2022 by RFguy

[lee-wave]

23 hours ago, RFguy said:

Sounds like a tricky approach.

 

Does your strip and DA combination meet the POH minimums ? If not, you might have insurance issues if there was an accident. It's one thing to operate very occasionally from a strip that doesn't meet POH requirements, but it is a bigger problem from an insurance POV,  IMO to operate as a home base from a strip that does not meet the POH minimums.

Not much of an acronym person but you are probably right about what I think you are saying .... doesn't worry me too much.. the aircraft is only insured for the legally required 3rd party and ground cover... 

Edited July 12, 2022 by lee-wave

[RossK]

6 hours ago, lee-wave said:

Not much of an acronym person  

DA - Density Altitude

POH - Pilot Operators Handbook

IMO - In my opinion

POV - point of view

[pmccarthy]

WTF

[RFguy]

Lee-wave-
do some exercises and calculate various temperature and wind and loading combinations in order to determine / assess compliance with  the limitations of the aircraft as described in the POH.

 

do not hesitate to involve an experienced party to help you with this.

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by RFguy

[Jerry_Atrick]

@lee-wave - what has been the impact to you with the "new" Farnborough class-D airspace that blankets that part of the woods? I flew out of Fairoaks a couple of weeks ago - for the first time since well before they implemented it, and it is a dogs breakfast..

 

Our flight was to Le Touquet (LFAT), which took a little under an hour.. Border police always at Fairoaks.. Customs at LFAT was virtually as it was pre-Brexit; Didn't have to show my passport. Ate lunch, strolled on the beach.. bakc at Fairoaks.. was reasonably relaxed but I did have to showe the Passport. Except for the cost of fuel, GA is the way to fly to Europe at the moment.

 

Can't remember the temp.. didn't seem hot enough to worry me, though.. would guess mid-20s or thereabout.

[lee-wave]

jerry_atrick@  the 'new airspace makes no difference to me personally ... I try and talk as little as possible on the radio anyway and hardly ever fly much above 2500ft. I agree it is a total mess... nobody has the right to grab airspace like that only to satisfy a few super wealthy individuals private jet operations into and out of Farnborough.  However having said that, if you requested a transit through any of the Farnborough airspace , even with out a transponder, the controllers are normally very helpful. 

Currently in the Jab operating with SkyEcho squawking conspicuity and ADSB out / in. It is helpful to see potential conflict aircraft from about a 3 mile semi circle distance from the cockpit forward.   But even with SkyEcho I spend more time looking out then in the cockpit.

 

[Neil_S]

On 08/08/2022 at 4:06 AM, Jerry_Atrick said:

@lee-wave - what has been the impact to you with the "new" Farnborough class-D airspace that blankets that part of the woods? I flew out of Fairoaks a couple of weeks ago - for the first time since well before they implemented it, and it is a dogs breakfast..

 

Our flight was to Le Touquet (LFAT), which took a little under an hour.. Border police always at Fairoaks.. Customs at LFAT was virtually as it was pre-Brexit; Didn't have to show my passport. Ate lunch, strolled on the beach.. bakc at Fairoaks.. was reasonably relaxed but I did have to showe the Passport. Except for the cost of fuel, GA is the way to fly to Europe at the moment.

 

Can't remember the temp.. didn't seem hot enough to worry me, though.. would guess mid-20s or thereabout.

Hi J_A,

 

Many moons ago, when I was a young lad, a friend and I used to fly from Southend to Le Touquet. I have fond memories of eating steak and chips at a cafe in town, going on the go-kart track at the seafront (is that still there?), buying some baguettes, vin et fromage, plus duty-frees, then flying home. A brilliant day out. 

I don't remember ever showing a passport at Le Touquet, although I seem to remember we did at Southend.

 

Cheers,

Neil

[Jerry_Atrick]

Le Touquet is the aviation mecca fo British gen and rec aviation pilots. The airport ops aren't quite as good as they used to be with French only on Tuesdays I think, and they have learned what British airfields charge and charge accordingly. But it is a shortish walk to town and of course the food options are magnifique. 

 

I don't recall a kart track, but I am not a beach person despite my Aussie heritage (except for fishing, of course). 

 

The town is still very pretty and I am hoping to get out there for another trip but part of a bigger one to include a Trois, and Cherbourg

[Jerry_Atrick]

@lee-wave, yeah Farnborough are accommodating and even before they got the grab, i was  outside controlled airspace and they asked me to change route I would accommodate providing I kept clear of cloud flying VFR. 

 

But the implementation is a dogs breakfast and easy to bust so it keeps people concentrating where they shouldn't 

 

Also apparently the law is here when controlled airspace is granted, it cannot be reclaimed unless the authority (which really is company as atc is privatised) agrees to give it up. I think Norwich Airport still has its class D despite traffic projections never materialising