So, What is the Saharan Dust going to do for My Weekend Flying Plans??

MBDiagMan said:
What does that have to do with my question about the effect of the sand on an air filter and an engine?

Are you saying your plane has no air filter of any kind?
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Yes. There is no air filter. Every Velocity running an IO550 that I've seen has no air filter. I tried to put one on but the plumbing just got out of hand.
 
For what its worth, I saw a documentary on this phenomenon on Netflix. Seems this dust cloud feeds the plankton in the ocean which feeds the fish and so on and so on. It went on to suggest that if we didn't have this dust cloud we'd all die.
 
Timbeck2 said:
For what its worth, I saw a documentary on this phenomenon on Netflix. Seems this dust cloud feeds the plankton in the ocean which feeds the fish and so on and so on. It went on to suggest that if we didn't have this dust cloud we'd all die.
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It’s also largely responsible for the demise of coral in the keys and Atlantic coast. It fertilizes the algae that then overgrows the coral. But it’s more politically expedient to blame global warming and big sugar.
 
Timbeck2 said:
For what its worth, I saw a documentary on this phenomenon on Netflix. Seems this dust cloud feeds the plankton in the ocean which feeds the fish and so on and so on. It went on to suggest that if we didn't have this dust cloud we'd all die.
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And I think the viability of the Amazon rain forest is also dependent on it.
 
Timbeck2 said:
For what its worth, I saw a documentary on this phenomenon on Netflix. Seems this dust cloud feeds the plankton in the ocean which feeds the fish and so on and so on. It went on to suggest that if we didn't have this dust cloud we'd all die.
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Plankton eat dust? Or is it made of something more than dust.

I don't doubt that there are good and bad effects of any natural phenomenon.
 
write-stuff said:
And I think the viability of the Amazon rain forest is also dependent on it.
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When the H-LL did Bezos buy a friggen RAIN FOREST?? That guy just has way too much money....


*ducks*

But - to provide a pertinent vector to this discussion - what's the latest on this dust cloud? I haven't been following the news. Will it sit around a while or has it dissipated? (Mid-Atlantic area here)
 
I flew Saturday in a lighter region of the dust. It was IFR and light rain. There was a light layer of dirt when she dried off. Much like sitting in the hanger for a few weeks. Otherwise, no issues to note.
 
Jim K said:
Im not sure why he's in such a crappy mood in this thread....I think most pilots are aware of PDK as the primary reliever in the atlanta area. I even know what the king & queen are thanks to @write-stuff 's videos, although that's a bit more esoteric.

I appreciate the photo as there's not a lot of info about the actual effects of this dust on GA. Looks like it won't make it this far north for the most part thankfully.
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I apologize for the rant, but it amazes me that there are so many pilots that believe that all the pilots across country know all the airports across the country.
 
MBDiagMan said:
I apologize for the rant, but it amazes me that there are so many pilots that believe that all the pilots across country know all the airports across the country.
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I dig from where you come. I've given up on pulling up skyvector.com everytime someone puts only the identifier for some random 'drome in their story. I've kind if stopped caring. Or I'm lazy.

Wait. Strike that last 'or'; insert an 'and'
 
Everskyward said:
Plankton eat dust? Or is it made of something more than dust.

I don't doubt that there are good and bad effects of any natural phenomenon.
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They like the minerals carried in the dust...
https://www.scientificamerican.com/gallery/saharan-dust-feeds-atlantic-ocean-plankton/

Salty said:
It’s also largely responsible for the demise of coral in the keys and Atlantic coast. It fertilizes the algae that then overgrows the coral. But it’s more politically expedient to blame global warming and big sugar.
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You mean the algae symbiotic with the coral?
https://phys.org/news/2016-11-corals-met-algae-symbiotic-relationship.html
 
I flew this morning in central Florida. The dust made things hazy, but it was still good VFR and I had 15 miles or more visibility. Contrast is low and washed out, making it difficult to see traffic, so I left my landing light on throughout the flight in hopes it would help others see me. Overall a great flight.
 
Went up very briefly Friday evening in central Georgia and it was bad. Definitely IMC above 1500'. Didn't fly at all on Sat as looked very hazy down the runway (I live at the airport). Heavy rain storm Sat evening and Sunday dawned bright and sunny - went up and very much back to normal visibility on Sunday afternoon.
 
Very hazy going into ISM this morning. It was worst between 11 and 9. It was good enough down low to shoot the visual.

20200629_083816.jpg 20200629_090301.jpg
 
I flew from NC to FL to the Bahamas Monday the 29th. The haze was visible the whole way, quite dense in FL.

But out over the ocean, nothing but a mild bottle with light blue shadings overhead and darker blue shading below. At 7,000’ the water surface wasn’t visible until the islands. No sign of an horizon.

Our host in Abaco was quite happy about the dust. It is understood to suppress the bigger storms and hurricanes. I was thinking the same. So far the clouds have been scarce and the winds mild which may or may not be related.


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Image from Friday Jacksonville Area.

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chemgeek said:
The dust storms originate in extremely dry air masses. The dry air and the intensity of the Easterlies that send them into the Atlantic provide shear that inhibits hurricane development. The most recent dust storm was a whopper.
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I heard from a knowledgeable source that it would tend to suppress big storms. I assumed (probably incorrectly) it had to do with the impact on solar radiation - less direct surface heating but increased greenhouse effect - not clear how that pans out. But I know from my soaring days that smoke from western fires tended to suppress convective activity in the east and making for lousy, weak soaring conditions. So I was guesstimating from that experience.

Thanks for more informed reason.


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On an interesting note, a friend down here on Abaco was talking about some local underwater caves. There was a mystery concerning a couple of feet sediment. Analysis indicated that it was Saharan dust. A couple of feet’s worth.


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Most carb air boxes are full of gaps that let in some unfiltered air even when the carb heat is off. Compared to automotive induction filtration, the average airplane's is really primitive.

TRW, the makers of pistons and rings, did some tests back in the 1980s regarding dust ingestion. They found that a teaspoonful, slowly admitted to the intake, was enough to lunch the engine. How much Saharan dust would be in, say, 14,000 cubic feet of air in two-mile visibility? 14K cubic feet is the maximum theoretical amount of air taken in by an O-320 in an hour's cruise, by my calculations.

I remember the Mount St. Helens' explosion in May 1980. It sent ash for hundreds of miles, and air filters were clogged quickly. Naive people removed them and kept driving and ruined their engines. That ash was a lot coarser than this dust, though. Mean stuff.

Dust in the air acts as condensation nuclei and is necessary for rain formation. More dust would trigger rain, reducing the chance of CB formation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_condensation_nuclei
 
I wonder if it suppresses the formation of hurricanes. That would be nice if it did.
 
donjohnston said:
Is this a Brit expression? I'm guessing it's something bad.
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Must be. Occasionally used here in Canada. I usually try to use American expressions and spelling to avoid confusing you guys.

It's the sort of word taken from the kitchen to mean destroy. More commonly we might talk about an engine being cooked or burnt or toast or barbecued. Or fried or roasted.
 
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I have a 25 hour engine that if I had to buy it now I would not be able to do it.

Driving to the inlaws this weekend. 4 hour drive vs 1-1/2 hour flight. Very bummed but I flew through one of these about two years ago and it was nasty. Not going to put a newly factory rebuilt engine through it.

Oh well....
 
Stephen Shore said:
I have a 25 hour engine that if I had to buy it now I would not be able to do it.

Driving to the inlaws this weekend. 4 hour drive vs 1-1/2 hour flight. Very bummed but I flew through one of these about two years ago and it was nasty. Not going to put a newly factory rebuilt engine through it.

Oh well....
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When I looked to see where it was yesterday, they said it was gone from the US, back out over the Atlantic.

Hope you have a nice flight!
 
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