Around the Patch

I hate flying in the summer. The cockpit of a general aviation airplane is a sweatbox. Thunderstorms are a constant concern. Once that air heats up, turbulence is near constant unless you can climb up over the haze layer.

As you can see, I have a love/hate relationship with flying during the summer. But if I waited for everything to be perfect, I’d rarely get off the ground. Summer presents an interesting set of challenges, but, as with almost anything in aviation, they can be managed. Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time and money trying out this and that to make summertime flying more comfortable. Here are some things that work—and some things that don’t.

Timing is everything. Fly in the morning when it’s cool(ish). Land before noon. Stay on the ground until early evening. Leave the uncomfortable turbulence and convective weather to someone else. Even with the best in-cockpit weather data, threading the needle between storms is dangerous.

I have a love/hate relationship with flying during the summer.Air conditioning. Some general aviation aircraft have air conditioners, but most do not. You can buy a portable air conditioner built to be carried in the backseat, but they can cost as much as $1,000. I have never used one, although I’m told they work well enough. YouTube has videos showing how to make your own using a portable cooler. If I were handy, which I am not, I would build one. A dollar store fan on a lanyard and a bottle with a fan that spritzes water are cheap but not very effective.

Water, water everywhere. Water needs to be in reach at all times. Even if you’re planning to do just three takeoffs and landings, put a bottle of water in the right seat. You’ll be perspiring, and you need to replace the water you lose with water you can use. Dehydration can cause headaches and dizziness, and nobody should be operating an aircraft if that happens. Concerned about having to make a pit stop? Build one into your flight plan. (My advice: Never leave a restroom behind.)

Change of clothes. Speaking of perspiration, throw an extra T-shirt and possibly some underwear in your flight bag. Thank me later. A small towel is handy to mop off your face when you’re on the ground and seventh in line to depart the airport.

Overheating equipment. If you use an iPad or tablet in the cockpit, it will shut down if it overheats. That’s inconvenient, particularly if you’re using charts on ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot. I’ve used an X-Naut Pilot Series cooling case, which is a rigid iPad holder with a battery-operated fan built in. It works as advertised. It’s a little pricey, but after experiencing the red X while flying I consider the expense to be something like renter’s insurance—better to have and not need, than need and not have.

Some of my best trips have been flown during the summer. I toted my kids to Sandusky, Ohio, to ride roller coasters at Cedar Point Amusement Park. We made an awesome final approach over Lake Erie to the now-closed Griffing Sandusky Airport. Another time I joined a group of pilots on a multi-day trip that included stops in Nantucket, Massachusetts; Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine; and Burlington, Vermont. That trip taught me a lot about flying in congested airspace and not trying to outrun a thunderstorm.

Some of my not-so-great trips were flown in summer, including a trek to an airport with my kids that necessitated flying at 2,000 feet agl because of airspace restrictions. The day was hot, the flight was bumpy, and my son, in the backseat, was not happy. (See: Timing is everything.)