Safety of Flying in High Temps
Last year I solo’d in 104 degree and 90% humidity weather. Did intentional go arounds in the pattern and came in to land, didn’t feel great so I went around. Started to be dripping in sweat by this point and was feeling exhausted. Missed another landing and turned crosswind. During my crosswind my vision started blurring, and I could hardly speak. I managed to mumble that I’d make a landing on the intersecting runway. I turned base from my previous crosswind and made my final landing. Cabin air vents were inop and essentially stuck shut. I’ve run and worked out in that weather plenty of times and I have never in my life seen that much sweat. To this day I feel like I could have done something better, or that I may have been dramatic or something, but I’ll never forget that haunting feeling that I was about to pass out as the only person in the plane. I believed going around was always the safest option when the landing didn’t feel right, but I absolutely should have put the plane on the ground earlier even if it wasn’t the absolutely perfect landing that I wanted.
Anyone with a similar experience, or tips to keep cool in the plane? I just started flying before 8am after that, but was still pretty spooked by the situation.
Posted May 7, 2025, 2:45 PM UTC