begin quote from:
“When air is hot, it becomes less dense due to air molecules spreading out,”
said Dr. Bob Thomas, assistant professor of Aeronautical Science at
Embry‑Riddle's Daytona Beach Campus. “Hot air is thin air. While this
reduces the lift on which planes rely for takeoff, the main impact is
felt on engine thrust.Apr 19, 2024
When air becomes less dense it becomes much less like the ocean of air and more thinned out so it cannot support the wings as much. Where this would be the biggest problem is takeoffs and landings at higher elevations where before they would be okay and now they would have to land at higher speeds in order not to stall the wings and drop when landing. The reverse would be true taking off at higher altitudes where it would take longer and at a faster speed to take off to get enough air under your wings to actually leave the ground.
Also, Helicopters cannot fly at all in 120 degrees Fahrenheit so they cannot rescue people at all when the temperatures get this high.
Already during the summers people can easily die in places like Death Valley or even Palm Springs or Las Vegas if they aren't really careful too when the temperatures get above 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
What I learned today and didn't know before is that the main problem with all of this is engine thrust.
When I thought about this it made sense because what an aircraft engine actually does is to force air out the back of it (whether this is propeller or jet engine) and if the air is less dense this would make the force of the air less strong and this would also cause problems especially on takeoff.
The real problems of less thrust are not when actually flying because you have already taken off and are flying along okay. The real problem becomes takeoffs at any altitude but especially higher altitudes which are going to take longer and longer runways at altitude.
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