southwestforests Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Airports, airplanes, air temperatures, & certain ignorances of the general public ... (Yes, this is a rant) Oh gosh. People. Yesterday YouTube suggested a Kansas City TV station's local news article about a pipe bursting at Kansas City International airport the other day because of the present cold wave. At least one comment on the page said something like the person would never again fly when it was that cold and they may have even said it wasn't safe for planes to fly when it is that cold. UMM, EXCUSE ME, but at airliners' typical 30,000 to 40,000 foot cruising altitude, (9,100m to 12,000m) it is far, Far, FAR, colder than yesterday's Missouri weather, like typically in the -40F to -70F range. (-40C to -56C). The thing brings up an eternal question, Why is so very much of the US population of all ages so pathetically ignorant of basic fundamental science but they CAN tell you all manner of ephemeral trivia about their favorite celebrity? What's the deal with people? Your favorite celebrity is not the world you live in. Or maybe it is ... Then again, the deck may be stacked in that I come from a family of aviators and mariners. While there is much detail I do not know about aviation, and about the Earth's environment, I do AT LEAST know THAT bit, it gets colder the higher in the atmosphere you go! Although I can't quote the math formula from memory, I do know there is one for figuring the temperatures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wxltcol Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 It's 5.5 degrees F/1,000 feet for dry air and 3.5 degrees F/1,000 feet for saturated air. And yes, it's that cold aloft where airliners typically fly. I'm a retired meteorologist and worked my last 25 1/2 years at Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center with the FAA (I was National Weather Service (NWS)). Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 On 1/22/2024 at 12:00 PM, wxltcol said: I was National Weather Service (NWS) A bit of a tangent but since this is my thread I'll allow it: 😊 With some health happenings which have been going on for a long time it is 16 years since I've had a television in my home as the thing is pretty much instant sensory overload. So ... to get weather ... ... some years back the internet showed me the NWS 7 Day Forecast webpage. I love it! 😁 And the radar and graphs linked to it. Also the 3 day national forecast charts page. Plus since our little midwestern farm burg is right on the Missouri River, the Advance Hydrologic Prediction Service river levels page is quite handy and interesting both. I don't know if they use data from the NWS to create their web pages but this aviation weather website is quite nice, https://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KCOU&state=MO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 On 1/22/2024 at 12:00 PM, wxltcol said: And yes, it's that cold aloft where airliners typically fly. Now, my life has been probably very different from the life of the person who made that comment on the KMBC video, my life has Two important relevant factors: 1: when Dad was finished with the several aviation magazines he subscribed to in the 60s and 70s he gave them to me and my brother. 2: being a kid in a military family I got interested in military history, so ... ... every time Dad got transferred first thing I did at new school library was find the 358, 629, 940 sections. Had read quite early in my life about B-17 and B-24 crews at high altitude and the temperatures up there & heated flying suits et cetera. And I knew from Dad and his dad, granddad, that there is good reason for aircraft piston engines having carburetor heaters. So, while I can't tell you a thing about current pop music, or movies, (other than Godzilla which gets talked about at Starship Modeler) or what's on TV besides news, sports, and a new Star Trek show (that gets talked about on Starship Modeler) or the compression ration in my van's cylinders, or its tire size without looking, (can tell you the air pressure is 36) I do know the temperature is colder at altitude thing. Did have to look up the exact temperature values. Could only remember that it was quite a bit below freezing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wxltcol Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 10 hours ago, southwestforests said: A bit of a tangent but since this is my thread I'll allow it: 😊 With some health happenings which have been going on for a long time it is 16 years since I've had a television in my home as the thing is pretty much instant sensory overload. So ... to get weather ... ... some years back the internet showed me the NWS 7 Day Forecast webpage. I love it! 😁 And the radar and graphs linked to it. Also the 3 day national forecast charts page. Plus since our little midwestern farm burg is right on the Missouri River, the Advance Hydrologic Prediction Service river levels page is quite handy and interesting both. I don't know if they use data from the NWS to create their web pages but this aviation weather website is quite nice, https://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KCOU&state=MO Nice! I really like that page. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Nothing wrong with you. You're just like me; an anlog guy in a digital world. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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