Beat the heat

Airplanes are greenhouses. When sitting in the sun on the ramp, they can clock temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees higher than the ambient temperature. This means your first duty on a summer preflight is to open every possible door and window to cool off the interior.

Next, if you wear shorts, and if your airplane has a dark seat, throw a light-colored towel over the seat at the start to help it cool, and as you conduct your preflight, be alert that even when painted white, aluminum surfaces get surprisingly hot in the summer sun. Consider adding a thin pair of driving or golf gloves to your summer flight bag to shield your fingertips from the hot metal.

Water woes

While spring weather increases the risk of water in the fuel tanks from condensation, for ramp-based airplanes, it’s summer rains that are the enemy now. After heavy rain, so much water can get into a tank (especially one with a fuel cap seal that’s at the end of its service life) that a standard sump sample will be nothing but water. So be sure to check for the appropriate color in addition to looking for those telltale water bubbles. If in doubt, re-sump, and the old sniff test never hurts, either. Hey, who doesn’t love the smell of avgas in the morning?

Expansive heat

Speaking of fuel and heat, fuel expands in hot weather. So, if someone previously topped off the airplane at day’s end when it was cooler, and you arrive at the airport as the day is heating up, you may see fuel dripping out of a fuel tank vent under the wing. Just make sure the drips are coming from the vent, not somewhere else.

If possible, conduct your preflight in the shade—be it a hangar, hail cover, or even on the shady side of an airport building. Trust me—it’s sometimes worth a short tow. And finally, be alert to the human tendency to shortcut the preflight due to heat. Don’t let a rush to beat the heat cause you to have a hot time on takeoff because you skipped a step and missed something.