Density Altitude!
Channel: Over 50 and Learning To Fly!
Date: 2020-07-19

Are you flying on a hot summer day?  Always check the density altitude!  On a hot and humid day, the aircraft will accelerate more slowly down the runway and will need to move faster to attain the same lift, and will climb more slowly. The less dense the air, the less lift, and you will have poor performance during the climb, and the longer the distance needed for takeoff and landing. 

Density altitude is pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature. As temperature and altitude increase, air density decreases. In a sense, it's the altitude at which the airplane "feels" its flying.

Although density altitude may not be a common subject for “hangar flying” discussions, pilots need to understand this  topic. Density altitude has a significant and inescapable influence on aircraft and engine performance, so every pilot needs to thoroughly understand its effects. Hot, high, and humid weather conditions can cause a routine takeoff or landing to become an accident in less time than it takes to tell about it.

Have you always wanted to learn how to fly but now you are over 50?  Get out there and start and learn! There are so many people in there 50's and 60's who are just starting to fly so what are you waiting for?