The perfect flying season is here.\u00a0 There are two times the flight weather environment becomes perfect and those times are fall and spring.\u00a0 Fall more so than spring, but still, spring is good.<\/p>\n
What makes fall and spring the perfect time to fly is the outside air temperature, the clear skies, and sometimes, the light winds.\u00a0 In the fall, the time before the first blasts of cold frontal activity, the temperature is perfect for flying, for both the airplane and the crews.\u00a0 It is not too hot, not too cool.\u00a0 In other words, during the fall, the temperature is comfortable.<\/p>\n
The skies can be crystalline clear without a cloud in the sky.\u00a0 In-flight visibility is phenomenal.\u00a0 There is something about the sky conditions during the fall and spring which seem to magnify the details of the land; checkpoints seem to stand out and colors are more vivid.<\/p>\n
\u00a0The winds are typically light during this time.\u00a0 It is the calm before the storm, so to speak.\u00a0 This is particularly true of flying conditions right at sunrise or just before and after the sun sets.<\/p>\n
The best time to fly during the perfect flying season is at sunrise.\u00a0 I remember watching a Cessna 150 on the take off roll early in the morning right at dawn on a slightly humid early fall morning.\u00a0 As the Continental O-200 engine roared and swung the propeller, the prop grabbed all the air it could while trying to pull the airplane into the sky.\u00a0 In doing so, it compressed all the moisture out of the air leaving a little contrail behind each propeller tip.\u00a0 Each trail spiraled all the way behind the 150 hanging in the humid air after the airplane was gone.\u00a0 It was one of those moments I mentally photographed \u2013 because I had no camera with me at the moment.<\/p>\n
Another quality of the season making it perfect for flying is the stable air.\u00a0 Since it is not as hot as in the summer, the ground does not heat the adjacent air as rapidly in July or August.\u00a0 As a result, the in-flight turbulence begins later in the morning and dies off earlier in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
Well, it is about time for the sun to rise.\u00a0 Excuse me, I need to go find a seat somewhere in a little airplane…<\/p>\n
-30-<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2010 J. Clark<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The perfect flying season is here.\u00a0 There are two times the flight weather environment becomes perfect and those times are fall and spring.\u00a0 Fall more so than spring, but still, spring is good. What makes fall and spring the perfect … Continue reading