Hiya, Rich...
 RL> That can be a very good excuse.  I was flying out of Palm Springs a
 RL> year or so ago and the lightly-loaded MD-80 took close to the entire
 RL> runway to get off the ground.  It was about 115 degrees. 
 Is that Palm Springs in California ???  I have some friends now living
 close to Palm Springs - the fellow is stationed at the Marine base there
 in the Mohave desert and his wife is a flight attendant on Delta - she
 commutes via shuttle flights into LAX where she is stationed.  I'd say
 your pilot was VERY smart - using ALL the runway in that hot climate
 just to make sure he reaches good flying speed.  BTW, where are you
 living now ??  TTYL - Roger
... Catch the Blue Wave!
--- Blue Wave v2.12 [NR]
---------------