Hot and High (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In aviation, hot and high refers to very warm ambient temperature combined with a very high airport elevation that may compromise an aircraft's ability to operate safely. Air density decreases with increasing temperature and altitude. Lower air density reduces the amount of lift generated by the wings of an airplane or the rotors of a helicopter, which may hamper an aircraft's performance, or in some cases, prevent it from becoming airborne at all. Aviators gauge air density by calculating the density altitude.