Density Altitude

by T Lithgow (2012)
(KZN, SA)

I am not a fancy pilot
And I don’t have fancy wings
I mostly fly small trainers
One engine only, sings

One hundred horse’s power
May sound like quite a lot
But they don’t feel like working
When the day is very hot

At 35 degrees outside
Tar melting in the sun
Altimeter says sea level
The engine says it’s not!

VSI shows one hundred foot
per minute, rate of climb
Full power, airspeed seventy,
The sun it at its prime

The heavy aerie labours on,
The pilots get quite hot
They wonder maybe they should land
And await a cooler slot

When hot, you’ll find good pilots know
The air is very thin
And engines don’t perform as well
Without a turbo in

It’s fine to get away with it
But one day you might not
So check your density altitude
And aircraft performance plot.


Here's a quick way to work out your density altitude