Flying in NE smokey haze??

jmarine225

jmarine225

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Jmarine225
I've been curious on this since this weather began. Here in PA we've had low visibilities and ceilings due to the wildfires in Canada. It sucks to even walk outside, smell and breathe this junk. I don't plan on flying anytime soon in these conditions, but I'm curious the effect this air quality had on piston engines. Would the air filter be able to manage this or is it possible to cause damage to the engine, as health experts are advising to stay indoors and not breathe it in. I can't image smoke infused air, combined with your carb heat can't be good at all for my Lycoming 0-320.
 
jmarine225 said:
I've been curious on this since this weather began. Here in PA we've had low visibilities and ceilings due to the wildfires in Canada. It sucks to even walk outside, smell and breathe this junk. I don't plan on flying anytime soon in these conditions, but I'm curious the effect this air quality had on piston engines. Would the air filter be able to manage this or is it possible to cause damage to the engine, as health experts are advising to stay indoors and not breathe it in. I can't image smoke infused air, combined with your carb heat can't be good at all for my Lycoming 0-320.
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Normal smoke/ haze I don't think it is a issue?
Now for you or I do think there is a issue.
I have been outside a lot this week and my eyes and nose can tell it. It might be allergies or it might be aggravated by minor smoke?
Normal smoke is going to go right through your air cleaner not really causing any major problems. Now do it for lot's of hours then I could see your oil and engine getting more dirt/wear in it.
I was flying this past Monday eve and I ran into a ton of haze. I really could not go higher than 2000' without loosing visibility and getting into the Bravo. I thought it was humidty at first then noticed the humidity was 33% Monday around here. WTH?
Then I saw some smoke getting blown south from above Detroit towards our area. Plus the wind has been out of the NE for a week now. The wind was out of the north mostly on Monday. It sucks and I haven't flown since Monday because of the haze around here.

What the heck Canada? Do we need to send Smokey the Bear up there?
IMG_2967.JPG
 
Gary Ward said:
Normal smoke/ haze I don't think it is a issue?
Now for you or I do think there is a issue.
I have been outside a lot this week and my eyes and nose can tell it. It might be allergies or it might be aggravated by minor smoke?
Normal smoke is going to go right through your air cleaner not really causing any major problems. Now do it for lot's of hours then I could see your oil and engine getting more dirt/wear in it.
I was flying this past Monday eve and I ran into a ton of haze. I really could not go higher than 2000' without loosing visibility and getting into the Bravo. I thought it was humidty at first then noticed the humidity was 33% Monday around here. WTH?
Then I saw some smoke getting blown south from above Detroit towards our area. Plus the wind has been out of the NE for a week now. The wind was out of the north mostly on Monday. It sucks and I haven't flown since Monday because of the haze around here.

What the heck Canada? Do we need to send Smokey the Bear up there?
IMG_2967.JPG
Click to expand...


Hey, your conditions are great! Here’s my “sky clear” conditions! (According to ATIS & AWOS)

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Daleandee said:
ATIS reporting visibility at 10 ... feet! :D
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Actually was sky clear and 9-10SM visibility. If you look straight down you can see the ground. But this required flying by instruments.
 
The smoke particles are predominantly less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, not likely to be a significant issue for your aircraft engine. However, these particles are highly problematic for your personal health, as they can be lodged in the smallest nooks and crannies of your lung. While it won't kill you today or tomorrow, long-term exposure is probably best avoided.

Around Central NY, airports have been going in and out of IFR conditions based on visibility alone during the worst of it, with conditions varying between 3/4 to 5 miles visibility. My home airport started out at 3/4 mile and made it up to 3 miles by afternoon. This is pretty murky flying. 3 miles viz is like flying at the tip of a cone where visual navigation is an exercise in extremely challenging tunnel vision (being charitable). This is basically IFR in my book.
 
I flew out of NE Maryland this morning. While it may have been legally VMC (I was IFR), there was NO horizon to reference. Haze layer was up to 15,000 feet.
 
In the mid-Hudson Valley we had a couple of days of IFR/LIFR only. 1/4 to 1/2 mile visibility.
It was uncomfortable to work in the hangar, so I packed it in after an hour.
I flew yesterday. Air quality was hovering just below 35, visibility was 8-10 miles. Clouds, bumpy, a little rain. Fun.
The rain last night scrubbed the air clean. AQI today of 12.
 
Looking for the AQI anywhere in the US? All you need is AirNow.gov and the zip code.

Doesn’t help with current visibility, though….

-Skip
 
Flew in KROA yesterday. Controller vectored me by the airport with the comment that if I can see the airport, tell him and he will clear me for the visual, or he would vector me from the approach.

Field elevation is 1150 feet, but due to surrounding mountain, minimum vectoring altitude is 5200.

I did the see the field at about 3 miles, so had a pretty slam dunk visual. Used gear down AND speedbrakes. :D
 
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