Airport shut down because of excessive heat...

[jagfiles]

I saw on the news tonight in Palm Springs (CA) that their airport actually shut down for a while because of of the heat (temp reached 118 degrees today)
It was explained that the heat caused the air to become thin, too thin to creat proper lift on the wings of the aircraft.

[schlamm]

Density altitude translates to excessively high temperatures that will make the air at the surface equal to being at a much higher altitude than the airport actually is.
For the sake of simplicity, there is no recommended takeoff or landing configuration for an airport that is at 23,000 feet because there isn't one to reference the settings against. The aircraft WILL fly regardless of the temperature, but one would be ill advised to jam the throttles and hope there is enough runway to generate enough speed for takeoff OR to attempt a landing approach where the actual stall speed is unknown

[muddworg]

Las Vegas it going to be 111 degrees at lease all week

[dlodoski]

Density altitude translates to excessively high temperatures that will make the air at the surface equal to being at a much higher altitude than the airport actually is...

Found that out the hard way landing at Burbank during a heat wave. The sudden drop onto the runway tweaked my back and freaked out quite a few passengers.

No ground effect that day....

[kham]

Density Alt is a real deadly consideration; I have at least 2-3 videos showing the effects of that; 2 of them are crashes -- 1 fatal, 1 exceedingly lucky and the 3rd proof that you can crumple an airplane into a ball and somehow manage to not kill yourself or anyone else.

[schlamm]

Found that out the hard way landing at Burbank during a heat wave. The sudden drop onto the runway tweaked my back and freaked out quite a few passengers.

No ground effect that day....

That is the seldom reported effect as it doesn't usually cancel flights or place weight restrictions on them, everyone gets their knickers in a knot when flights are canceled and that makes the news. Here is another worrisome fact to consider, if you had the Bonneville salt flats to take off from with no concerns for runway length/building up enough speed for flight you still may not make it.
The takeoff speed may exceed the limitations for the tires on the airplane (most of them are good to 225 Mph) and a blowout or tread separation at that speed would prove quite catastrophic for all concerned.

[Duncan Edwards]

I departed Tegucigalpa, Honduras once on a 757 that could carry only enough fuel for the 20 minute flight to the coast where we gassed up for the trip to Miami. High and hot and a short runway make flying difficult.

[BSink42]

I don't think I've ever heard of an airport shutting down because of the heat. Huh.

[schlamm]

I departed Tegucigalpa, Honduras once on a 757 that could carry only enough fuel for the 20 minute flight to the coast where we gassed up for the trip to Miami. High and hot and a short runway make flying difficult.

That and the cliff at the end of the runway doesn't inspire confidence in successfully aborting a takeoff attempt either

[bbjohn]

I don't think I've ever heard of an airport shutting down because of the heat. Huh.

I can tell you that Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport closed for several hours one day in June 1990 when the temperature hit 122 degrees. That was hot even by Phoenix standards. None of the aircraft were certified to operate at anything above 120 degrees. Imagine what it would be like working on a tarmac in that heat.

I can tell you that in my hometown in Arizona on the Colorado River, we hit 129 degrees Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. I've lived here for 21 years, and I have never seen it this hot.

I know the old comment is the heat in Arizona is a "dry heat," but I will tell you that, when it gets up to 110 degrees or above, you don't care if it's a dry heat. It's HOT!

Now you know why they needed an indoor ballpark before Phoenix could get a major league baseball team.

I noticed Phoenix didn't become a boom town until after the widespread use of air conditioning. It took a special kind of person to live in the desert before a/c or evaporative coolers were invented. I marvel at how the Native American tribes not only survived, but thrived in this environment.

I think I'll crank up the a/c and hibernate until November.

Big Bad John