Hydration crucial to summer flying

  • Published
  • By Christopher Latham
  • 60th Force Support Squadron Aero Club activity manager
TRAVIS AFB, Calif. --  Once again the summer season is upon us. With it comes the warm sunshine and high temperatures that call us to enjoy our favorite outdoor activities. For general aviation types, that means flying long cross-countries to sharpen skills, build hours toward the next level license and rating or grab a bite to eat at a new airport greasy spoon with our hangar buddies. But any pilot worth their salt will know not to fly off into the blue without first taking the temperature into consideration.

In planning for a long flight on a hot day, you remember to account for the loss of engine and airfoil performance; but you may overlook one small detail--hydration. The flight deck of a small Piper or Cessna is normally warm as is. With all the windows acting as a greenhouse and warm avionics giving off heat, these factors combine to keep the cockpit warm on a cool day, and there is no need to bother turning on the cabin heat. With the added heat of summer, this can quickly become a boiler room, with temperatures reaching a blistering 130 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes hydration and staying cool an absolute necessity.

Pilot error rates have been shown to rise dramatically as ambient temperature and skin temperature rise. Even small rises in body temperature have been shown to significantly increase error rates in routine tasks. At extremes, a body core temperature of 101 degrees Fahrenheit doubles the normal error rate and judgment is greatly impaired.

Other factors may also exacerbate the problem. Fatigue, alcohol usage, old age, obesity, and even previous cases of heat stroke can make you more prone to getting heat stress at a lower threshold. All this adds up to decreasing your situational awareness and increasing the number mistakes made.

So what to do? Hydration is the biggest factor in reducing core temperature. Work and rest cycles also play a part, but to a slightly lesser degree. The best strategy is to start the day hydrated and continue to hydrate throughout the day. If possible, stay out of direct sunlight since this directly affects your core temperature. Trying to play catch-up on hydration and cool your body core temperature after absorbing a ton of sunshine is not the position you want to find yourself when operating an aircraft.

When flying, plan to bring enough water or other hydrating fluids for you and any passengers. Also take into consideration making an off-airport landing and take more than needed for just the flight. Planning a rest stop every hour or so can also help. It will give you and your passengers a chance to take a physiological break, let your internal gyro settle (in the case of turbulence caused by rising thermals), and stretch you tired bones. It will make for a pleasant journey for you and your passengers, and prevent you from making a bad mistake that could ruin your day; if not your life.

Don't limit this approach to just flying activities. Whether flying a General Aviation aircraft, out on a boat enjoying Lake Berryessa or driving a car on a family road trip, planning for the heat and staying hydrated is key to enjoying yourself and staying safe in the summer months.