But for the aviator who lives and flies here, enjoying the skies of the Southwest does not come without a cost. Aviators must invest the time to gain aeronautical knowledge about the possible dangers of the land where a few buffalo are again roaming and the deer and the antelope still play. Density Altitude Those who fly these skies must be familiar with density altitude and how it affects our silver birds of flight. A takeoff can land you in a world of hurt. Simply defined, density altitude is pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature.
Pilots often confuse pressure altitude with barometric pressure or field elevation.
Pressure altitude can always be obtained by turning your altimeter window to 29.92 and reading the altitude. High density altitude is so insidious. You can't see it, but it is there. If you ignore it, you may meet it three-fourths of the way down the runway, bringing the sinking feeling that you won't make it over the trees. It's no pun to say that it is not an uplifting experience.