Cold weather flying

[amillet]

I planned a flight from W. Washington today across Cascades to E. Washington (KPSC) to watch grandkids basketball games on Saturday. Forecast temps are high of 10F LOW 0F. FBO had unheated hangar available for $50/day but it did not have electrical outlet to plug in a Tanis heater. Rather than cold starting I chose to drive over (6 hours vs 1.5 flight).  How do those of you who live in cold climes deal with lack of facilities at intended destinations?

[Marauder]

I planned a flight from W. Washington today across Cascades to E. Washington (KPSC) to watch grandkids basketball games on Saturday. Forecast temps are high of 10F LOW 0F. FBO had unheated hangar available for $50/day but it did not have electrical outlet to plug in a Tanis heater. Rather than cold starting I chose to drive over (6 hours vs 1.5 flight).  How do those of you who live in cold climes deal with lack of facilities at intended destinations?

Portable generators. They weigh around 50 lbs and you can run your Tanis and a very small cabin heater.


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[201er]

2 minutes ago, Marauder said:

 

Portable generators. They weigh around 50 lbs and you can run your Tanis and a very small cabin heater.


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You fly with it in the cabin? Fuel?

[Marauder]

You fly with it in the cabin? Fuel?

Fits in the baggage compartment. The Yamaha I own has fuel shutoffs for the cap and the carb. I also carry a 50' extension cord and a vinyl covered cable to lock it to the plane.

Pulled it out tonight to take it to the airport. Got cold!




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[carusoam]

Alan, (better answers came in while I was slowly typing..)

find the thread that discusses what small generators Mooney pilots are using.  They are not very expensive.  They have the capacity. They run on 100LL...

Like my Tug/lawn tractor it may need some pre-heat too...   a simple torch on the air intake tube has been known to work...

Regular gas is better for cold starting than 100LL for these small motors...

The generator can be stored in a warm location or put in front of a heater.

Ideas that come to mind...

-a-

[ArtVandelay]

They use at most a 1/2 gal for several hours.

Do not use regular gas, find ethanol free if you can, it does better in small engines that aren't used often.

[carusoam]

Double posts abound!!

It happens when people are posting simultaneously...

Best regards,

-a-

[takair]

I've have a couple of portable propane heaters that use camping stove cylinders.  Also have a small Harbour Freight $99 generator, but I have not been confident about its ability to retain gas in flight, so have not flown with it.  It does however work well for the sump heater.  Alternately, many FBOs have mega heaters, be sure to watch over their use.

i wish airports would recognize this as a real need at tie downs, not unlike electric car charging stations.  Frequently the electric infrastructure is readily available just feet away.

[yvesg]

I use a 35000 BTU propane heater I can take with me anywhere. The 120 AC volts fan was replaced by a 12V one and the battery pack I carry can also be used to boost the airplane. They now have similar heaters with integrated batteries.

Yves

[201er]

53 minutes ago, yvesg said:

I use a 35000 BTU propane heater I can take with me anywhere. The 120 AC volts fan was replaced by a 12V one and the battery pack I carry can also be used to boost the airplane. They now have similar heaters with integrated batteries.

Yves

What do you use for preheating the pilot? It's really cold up by you, eh?

[yvesg]

1 hour ago, Marauder said:

 

Fits in the baggage compartment. The Yamaha I own has fuel shutoffs for the cap and the carb. I also carry a 50' extension cord and a vinyl covered cable to lock it to the plane.

Pulled it out tonight to take it to the airport. Got cold!




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Marauder, you think it will get cold where you live? Try getting METAR for my home airport CYND. At 10 PM it was minus 23 Celcius. It will reach around minus 27 I think and it is not Christmas yet. There is a foot of snow already on the ground... yeah... next week I pack all my stuff in the Mooney and will head for south Florida! Global warming... right... not over here!

Yves

[yvesg]

11 minutes ago, 201er said:

What do you use for preheating the pilot? It's really cold up by you, eh?

Just wear a thick winter coat and a tuque. As soon as I sit in the plane I open the small window and keep the door open until I start the engine otherwise the breathing fumes will completely frost the windows inside. I am telling you, I am heading for Florida tabarnak!

Yves

P.S. For the meaning of the last word in the sentence above, refer to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity

[carusoam]

Yves,

Stop in NJ on your way though. We can get some lunch.  Low cost 100LL can be found at Central Jersey Airport...

Best regards,

-a-

[Danb]

I try to get a heated hanger in Detroit City I make arrangements for them to preheat it, when I had my J with the tanis I called the FBI line guy I showed him how to plug it in I usually gave them $25 well worth it, I didn't put a preheater on my Bravo at home it's in a heated hanger.Inkeep wondering if I should invest in one.

[cloud116]

Mmm, I live in Bismarck ND USA, which is approximately 200 miles NORTH of Toronto Canada. 30" of snow on the ground, more coming this weekend along with -24 degrees F and -50 degree windchill. Use a Honda generator with a good dose of sea foam in the tank. Now work for sea foam, but have been using the stuff since 92. Cant believe the difference it makes in starting my  generator (which is an awesome generator, but seems to scoff at gas more than 30 days out of the pump unless treated with sea foam). I use the generator to power my tanis heater and a small cabin heater. Ok, a shameless, but sincere plug. 

Yvesg, swing by and pick me up on your way to FL. 

[yvesg]

There you go: minus 30 Celcius right now!

OTTAWA/GATINEAU/QC    

LWIS CYND 161100Z AUTO 00000KT M30/M33 A3031= 

LWIS CYND 161000Z AUTO 00000KT M28/M31 A3030= 

LWIS CYND 160900Z AUTO 26004KT 260V350 M29/M32 A3028= 

This is the coldest I have ever flew the Mooney at many years ago. On takeoff, 3-4 dials were erratics but settled within 10 minutes. Wife said: never again.

Yves

[yvesg]

6 hours ago, carusoam said:

Yves,

Stop in NJ on your way though. We can get some lunch.  Low cost 100LL can be found at Central Jersey Airport...

Best regards,

-a-

Thanks Anthony for the offer. When I did this 2 years ago we were in a hurry to get south ASAP... might be worse this year. I'll get in touch if we can do this.

Regards,

Yves

[Marauder]

There you go: minus 30 Celcius right now!

OTTAWA/GATINEAU/QC    

LWIS CYND 161100Z AUTO 00000KT M30/M33 A3031=  LWIS CYND 161000Z AUTO 00000KT M28/M31 A3030=  LWIS CYND 160900Z AUTO 26004KT 260V350 M29/M32 A3028=  This is the coldest I have ever flew the Mooney at many years ago. On takeoff, 3-4 dials were erratics but settled within 10 minutes. Wife said: never again.
Yves

You got is beat. It's -13°C here this morning.


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[Marauder]

Mmm, I live in Bismarck ND USA, which is approximately 200 miles NORTH of Toronto Canada. 30" of snow on the ground, more coming this weekend along with -24 degrees F and -50 degree windchill. Use a Honda generator with a good dose of sea foam in the tank. Now work for sea foam, but have been using the stuff since 92. Cant believe the difference it makes in starting my  generator (which is an awesome generator, but seems to scoff at gas more than 30 days out of the pump unless treated with sea foam). I use the generator to power my tanis heater and a small cabin heater. Ok, a shameless, but sincere plug. 
Yvesg, swing by and pick me up on your way to FL. 

Which Sea Foam? I love Deep Creep. Unbelievable stuff.


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[ArtVandelay]

3 hours ago, Marauder said:

 

You got is beat. It's -13°C here this morning.
 

 

It was 13°C here in south Florida, I had to put a jacket on....brrrr.

[peevee]

I was in costa rica yesterday. It was mid 80's and the pool felt too cool to get in

[Marauder]

It was 13°C here in south Florida, I had to put a jacket on....brrrr.

I was in costa rica yesterday. It was mid 80's and the pool felt too cool to get in

I was thinking about both of you as I was looking for another thing to throw on the fire.


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[peevee]

21 minutes ago, Marauder said:

 

 

I was thinking about both of you as I was looking for another thing to throw on the fire.


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High here tomorrow is like 3f so what,  probably - 15ish for the Canucks? Fairly unusual for this part of Colorado. 

I went to UND so I'm familiar with the minus 35f routine. 

Edited December 16, 2016 by peevee

[Hank]

14 hours ago, yvesg said:

Just wear a thick winter coat and a tuque. As soon as I sit in the plane I open the small window and keep the door open until I start the engine otherwise the breathing fumes will completely frost the windows inside. I am telling you, I am heading for Florida tabarnak!

Yves

P.S. For the meaning of the last word in the sentence above, refer to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity

Wow! Ya'll have a Wiki page for how you cuss! As a side note, a good swearing job is also considered an art form in the South, we just don't have a web page about it [that I know of], and most all English speakers can understand the meaning [if you can understand our fine accent   ].

[Browncbr1]

harbor freight has a light and quiet 2kw for $500.. 

http://www.harborfreight.com/engines-generators/gas-engine-generators/2000-peak1600-running-watts-28-hp-797cc-portable-inverter-generator-carb-62523.html