It’s hot!

Too hot. Last week they were forecasting temperatures of over 40 degrees C for this week but now they’ve been moderated a little to the 39 degree mark. OK if you’re on holiday down here next to a cool swimming pool but not if you have work to do. Like I have. It’s so hot that I’m not getting any work done on my aircraft. I’d hoped that by now I’d have my Savannah all serviced and ready to go and just be waiting for the new anti-freeze to arrive while I’d have started work on my X-Air, but things have just been at a standstill.

I’m typing this at teatime and I’ve just returned from checking what conditions are like at Malbec as the barn has been in shadow for several hours. When I left the temperature gauge in my car read 39 degrees C and at Malbec it was still 33 degrees in the shade. Also the humidity, although forecast to be only around 50-60%, was quite a bit higher I think, making working conditions not very enjoyable and the vis quite poor as the following pictures show.

When I returned home the temperature inside my house was 31 degrees C even though I’ve had the shutters closed on the sunny sides of the house and yet again sleeping tonight will be uncomfortable, even with a fan running, as it’s been for the past several days. The temperature is forecast to be 35 degrees C tomorrow and falling slowly thereafter but is still not forecast to fall below 30 degrees until Saturday, so whether I’ll get much done before then I do not know.

I need to pump the Savannah’s tyres up and lubricate all of its swivels and hinges after which it should be ready to fly. That’ll only leave the anti-freeze and a thorough clean inside and out to be done. There will be less to do on the X-Air but that also will need a thorough internal clean, although it’s always kept in the barn with outdoor covers on, so cleaning its exterior won’t be much of a problem.

The other problem because of the weather is the insects. There is a profusion of wood wasps this year and they’re all flying around looking for places in which to build their nests. As soon as I open the doors and windows of my house in they come making a nuisance of themselves. I was stung on my toe while wearing flip flops a few days ago when I opened the doors of my tool store because several of them had started to build their nest behind the left door and got annoyed when I slid it open, and even this afternoon I had to chase two out of the Savannah’s cabin who had found their way inside through the left wing root. The last thing I want is for the cabin to be full of angry insects next time I open the door!