Question of the Week: “When is the Best Time For A Grand Canyon Air Tour?”

Mar 25

Question of the Week: “When is the Best Time For A Grand Canyon Air Tour?”

Last Sunday morning dawned clear and cool, a fine beginning to the kind of day we live for here in the Grand Canyon: crisp, sunny and perfect for a brisk walk on the rim trail, or even a jaunt down the Kaibab Trail. Then around noon, that sound came – a jarring “whoosh” that shook the trees and even had ravens squawking in surprise at the sudden interruption of their airborne reverie. And then that little yellow instant message box from Grand Canyon National Park Airport popped up on my computer screen; without looking at it I knew exactly what it said: “weather hold.”

From that moment forward, winds at the Grand Canyon gusted around 45 MPH, even getting as high as 65+ in some areas. The difference from one minute to the next was night and day: one minute, the air was still, the next it… wasn’t. And it wasn’t until about 5 AM the next morning, when, just as suddenly as the windstorm had started, it stopped. The cycle repeated itself the following day. One thing about Grand Canyon weather: it can change in a New York minute. The weather this last weekend was the perfect example: a picture perfect morning followed by a dreadful afternoon.

Which leads us to our question of the week: “what is the best time of day to take a Grand Canyon air tour?” The answer: it’s probably not what you think.

For instance, many of you might be inclined to choose late afternoon flight times, thinking you might catch a glimpse of sunset on their Grand Canyon air tour. Sorry to burst your bubble, guys, but the truth is, the FAA forbids any aircraft at all from flying over the canyon at sunset, therefore Grand Canyon helicopter tours and airplanes tours will be “back to base” long before the first rays of sunset cast their glow on the canyon walls.

Another problem with late afternoon flights is a phenomenon called “atmospheric convection.” Atmospheric convection is defined as “the result of a parcel-environment instability, or temperature difference, layer in the atmosphere,” and in the Grand Canyon, you’ve got one big doozy of a temperature difference in the atmosphere, particularly in the summertime. The topmost rock layer of the Grand Canyon consists of a mix of sandstone and limestone (called the “Moenkopi formation” for you “inquiring minds”). At 7,000’ above sea level and a yellowish-beige in color, it doesn’t tend to absorb that much heat. The very bottom rock layer of the Grand Canyon is called Vishnu Schist, a glass-like volcanic formation which bears a very strong resemblance in texture to obsidian. It is 2,000 feet above sea level and its color is black. Black absorbs heat, and creates warm air. What does warm air do? It rises. So those of you who choose to take that Grand Canyon air tour late in the afternoon should be prepared for a roller coaster ride, that’s if your flight goes at all.

Upon reading that, some of you might think, “ok, I’ll book it for around noon when the colors are brightest.” Sorry again, but that too is a bit off the mark: when the sun is directly overhead of the Grand Canyon, it does not have the effect of heightening the colors, it actually washes them out and makes them more “ashy.” On any given day during the warmer months of summer, temperatures at the bottom of the canyon can get up to 115 degrees well before noon, which means that convective updrafts can also occur as early as mid-morning.

So by process of elimination hopefully you’ve deduced the answer to this week’s Grand Canyon vacation An Eco-Star helicopter at the Boulder City Airport planning question: the best time for a Grand Canyon air tour is morning. Mornings offer much to the Grand Canyon air tour passenger: 1. better light. Though aircraft are also forbidden from flying over the Grand Canyon at sunrise, times such as 8 AM and 9 AM still offer enough shadow play on the canyon walls to make for excellent photo opportunities. 2. cooler temperatures. Ask any pilot you know and he or she will tell you that all types of aircraft perform better in cooler temperatures.

Planes and helicopters HATE hot weather. It’s because aircraft performance depends on a phenomenon called “density altitude.” According to Wikipedia, “density altitude” is “the altitude corrected for non-ISA International Standard Atmosphere atmospheric conditions. Aircraft performance depends on density altitude, which is affected by barometric pressure, humidity and temperature. On a very hot day, density altitude at an airport (especially one at a high elevation) may be so high as to preclude takeoff, particularly for helicopters or a heavily loaded aircraft.” Which means that if you’re visiting Las Vegas in the summertime, that 5.30 AM pickup for the 7.00 AM Grand Celebration or Canyon Escapes flight might sound absolutely horrible, but in reality you ought to just bite the bullet and drag yourself out of bed. You’ll take much better pictures, have a much smoother flight, and besides, chances are that 11.30 departure might get cancelled anyway ‘cause, to quote an old song from Broadway, “it’s too darn hot!

So the moral of the story is, if at all possible, book your Grand Canyon air tours for the morning hours, preferably between 8 and 11 AM, the earlier the better. Of course if your schedule just cannot accommodate a morning flight, by all means try for an afternoon flight. Just be aware that best case scenario, you’ll probably experience some turbulence; worst case scenario, your flight would get cancelled and your money refunded if unable to reschedule.

‘Til next time, make it a “grand” one! – GrandCanyon.com

P.S. Right now for a limited time, GrandCanyon.com is offering a killer special on the Las Vegas Grand Celebration and the Las Vegas Canyon Escapes helicopter tours! Click on the links for more details, and see my previous post about the differences between the Eco-Star and Bell helicopters.

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