We’ve had quite a substantial summer here in Toronto this year. Very hot and very humid. The good side of this is that the weather has been very stable and pretty reasonable flying conditions. As I’ve mentioned I’ve only had one lesson cancelled due to scuddy weather, in comparison to RTH who learned to fly during one of the most active thunderstorm seasons we’d had in years. The downside of this is that the hot weather makes for miserable cockpit conditions. The planes bake in the sun; the engines get hot and bloody difficult to start. Once you are in the air, you can get some relief from the cabin air vents, you can even open the window! Mentally I have a hard time with that concept. Windows on planes should not open, full stop. However; on the ground it is icky. You have no choice but to spend a good 10 minutes on the ground doing all your preflight, pre taxi and run up checks. Get stuck behind a Dash 8 and you could be there for a good 20 minutes (standing on the toe brakes, getting cramps in your shins)
It’s no surprise then that the first thing I do after a flight is head straight for the drinks machine and down a can of whatever pop takes my fancy. I get really dehydrated. Yesterday’s lesson was also a reminder that clear air conditions can also make for uncomfortable flying. Despite my expensive sunglasses the sun was streaming straight through the windshield into my eyes. It wasn’t enough to obscure my vision but it seriously felt like I was being interrogated by the Gestapo. Apparently we have ways of making you fly accurate circuits! Or maybe this is a genuine teaching technique employed by slightly more sadistic instructors. <shrug>
No comments:
Post a Comment