Really i didnt think it could be that dramatic at 8000 if it was roasting at ground level?
Oh it does, believe me. The other thing was that I was under cloudbase most of the time (I know, an eight-nine thousand foot cloudbase in UK, unbelievable) so had no direct sunshine heating the cockpit. Bear in mind that the K8 isn't the most draught proof of a/c so besides the ambient temperature you usually have a wind howling around somewhere. Two hours at that height would be bearable, three maybe pushing it a bit, five is fridge city.