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The Associated Press reports via KTAR-FM in Glendale, Arizona
At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, American Airlines regional jets sit on the tarmac as American Airlines says seven regional flights have been delayed and 43 have been canceled because of a heat wave as temperatures climb to near-record highs Tuesday, June 20, 2017, in Phoenix.
[...] It's the air density.
Hotter air gets thin, making it harder to take off and land safely, mostly for smaller jets. That's what has kept some planes grounded in Phoenix this week where temperatures have been pushing 120 degrees. Airplanes take off and stay aloft because of lift, the force from the movement of air underneath the plane's wings that push it upward.
"As air warms up, it expands and there's fewer molecules to be under your wing", said Lou McNally , professor of applied meteorology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. With less lift, "you need more of everything. You need more thrust to take off. You need more distance (on the runway) to take off. You need more distance to land. You need more speed to land. It gets to a point for some aircraft that it gets just too much", he said.
High heat also means a plane climbs at a lower rate, said pilot Patrick Smith, author of the book "Cockpit Confidential".
To compensate, planes have to generate more thrust or power and have larger wings. Smaller jets that generate less thrust, like Bombardier's CRJ regional jets, which have a 118-degree limit at Phoenix's elevation, are more likely to be stuck in the heat.
At Dubai International Airport and other Gulf airports, which are used to hot weather, many flights--but not all--arrive at night and early morning to get around the heat problem. Gulf carriers also tend to operate longer flights using larger planes that aren't as limited by high heat.
[...] Airlines can take other steps when the temperature climbs too high. They can lighten the plane's load by selling fewer seats--a tactic American Airlines is using in the Phoenix heat wave--or reducing cargo. They can take off with less than a full tank of fuel and then stop somewhere cooler to refuel.
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Justin Case on Wednesday June 21 2017, @07:10PM (18 children)
Bernie Sanders is quacking that this is proof of global warming. But he overlooks the past 8,000 or so days when the airport was not closed. And before that -- somewhat over 20 years ago -- it was closed for the same reason. So why wasn't everyone screaming about "global freezing" during the cold spell between airport closures?
The weather fluctuates. Nothing you can do about it but adapt.
Also, they don't close the airport because planes can't fly. Planes haven't been tested at these air temperatures so they don't have data showing how much weight is safe.
If Bernie was truly drinking his own kool-aid he would be calling for all airports to shut down permanently, to stop burning fuel. But instead he's griping that the airport was closed one day, so OMG the end of the world!
(Score: 2) by KGIII on Wednesday June 21 2017, @07:49PM (5 children)
This happens at many, many airports. In particularly to environments, international flights are scheduled at night so that they can have a full load of fuel.
A heat wave doesn't indicate global warming. I say this as someone who actually mostly understands the science and is reasonably convinced that the planet is warming due to human outputs of greenhouse gases. Anyone citing this as proofof global warming is probably not actually aware of what AGW is.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 2) by weeds on Wednesday June 21 2017, @09:52PM (2 children)
I'm getting used to saying, "Weather _does not equal_ climate." Someone should tell Bernie.
Get money out of politics! [mayday.us]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @11:50PM
It could be said that climate is the integral of weather.
...or, perhaps, weather is the derivative of climate.
One thing's for sure: Weather is deviations from a baseline.
...and the baseline has hasn't been this radical EVER.
Earth Temperature Timeline [xkcd.com]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by KGIII on Thursday June 22 2017, @02:13AM
Nobody listens to me. So, you should email him.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 2) by sjames on Thursday June 22 2017, @11:07AM (1 child)
It's certainly NOT proof, but if it keeps happening, it may be evidence.
If the global warming progresses, its is very much a preview.
(Score: 2) by KGIII on Thursday June 22 2017, @05:15PM
Yup.
I spent a couple of years familiarizing myself with climate science. I modeled traffic. The similarities are kind of neat.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @08:01PM (6 children)
"Planes haven't been tested at these air temperatures"
Wrong. You can check the FAA regulations or http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140319-stress-tests-for-safer-planes [bbc.com]
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Wednesday June 21 2017, @09:33PM (3 children)
Could you point me to the part of that linked article where it says the maximum temperature at which planes are flight tested? Because all I see is the phrase "extremely hot temperatures" which could be open to interpretation. How often can test pilots find several hours of 130 degree air to fly around in with various types of aircraft?
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday June 22 2017, @12:25AM (2 children)
You do understand, don't you, that this stuff is pretty much simple math.
Before the plane leaves the drawing board they already know the wing loading, lift generation, rate of climb, and max takeoff weight to within a few decimal places.
But once you get the plane built those are verified, not only in hot places but also cold places, windy places, wet places, etc. They test loaded, test empty, etc, and they can do the math to see what it will be at any temperature, with any given wind. You don't have to fly EACH at point on the the thermometer to know where it is that your take off roll exceeds runway length.
We are well past the point where we build it, fly it till it crashes, and build a better one, rinse and repeat.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday June 22 2017, @12:31AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxmFfq3w8pM [youtube.com]
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by KGIII on Thursday June 22 2017, @02:18AM
Wrong.
They are completely guessing at the design. It's not basic math, it's witchcraft.
Do I need to add the /s?
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday June 21 2017, @09:50PM (1 child)
As low as -28 ⁰C is tested then. But no mention of heat tests.
Also high altitude take off is tested:
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday June 22 2017, @12:06AM
"High and hot" airports (more accurately, high and/or hot airports) were mentioned in a recent discussion. The low density of the air hinders flight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_and_high [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday June 21 2017, @08:04PM (3 children)
So why wasn't everyone screaming about "global freezing" during the cold spell between airport closures?
Because globally, instances of freezing are decreasing, not increasing.
When you break heat records every year for the past 4 years it might just indicate a trend.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @08:27PM (2 children)
Nobody has to live in Phoenix... and nobody who lives there is allowed to complain about heat.
(Score: 2) by slinches on Wednesday June 21 2017, @09:17PM (1 child)
Can we complain about people who don't live here during this time of the year complaining about the heat? Because that's who's complaining.
Seriously, this isn't a story. We get an annual heat wave in June/July that reaches around 116F on average. It's a few degrees hotter than that this year, but even the lowest max temp for the year in my lifetime was 111. It's just hot this time of year. Stay inside and keep cool through the mid-late afternoons in June and July. Then enjoy the nice weather mid-September through early May.
I don't know of any place that has perfect sunny weather with comfortable temps year round.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday June 21 2017, @09:29PM
Well, there is climate data for the whole earth so it should be possible to run some algorithm to find the best match for those conditions ;)
Though it seems programming is better when it's somewhat bad weather outside. :p
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @11:58PM
It happened.
Haven't you heard about "Senator Snowball"? [google.com]
Dumbass James Inhofe (R-OK) actually brought a snowball onto the Senate floor as "proof" that Global Warming is a fraud.
The 2 of you should start a club.
I'm sure that some Soylentils have suggestions for the name for that.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]