Winter Operation

[TonyK]

WINTER IS COMING!

What steps do you take to get ready for and fly during the winter?  

This will be the first full winter of ownership for me and I plan on flying throughout the season weather permitting.

I had a oil pan heater installed and the airplane is kept in a hanger with the cowl plugs in and a sleeping bag over the cowl and prop.

 

[steingar]

I have a little heater I put inside the front of the cowling.  Over that go cowl plugs, and blankets on top.  Keeps the engine bay a nice 70 degrees F.  I also keep  battery tender hooked up to the battery.

[JoshMan]

I very luckily have a heated hangar

[TonyK]

Do either of you partially block the oil cooler or speed tape the cowl in any way?  I know on my other airplane this is a common winter item along with swapping to a much lighter oil weight.

[Piloto]

I am applying Rain-X to the wing leading edge to reduce ice accumulation while in-flight. Planning on flying to Pittsburgh this Christmas to see my grandson.

José 

[yvesg]

The coldest I have flown my C ever was -30 C. Not again...Since then my limit is -20C. I do not block the oil cooler with anything.

I pre-heat with a propane forced air heater.

Yves

[neilpilot]

When I lived in a colder climate, in addition to engine compartment heat I also kept a small electric heater in the cabin, set to a very low heat setting.  Gyros that are started when very cold are subject to high failure rates.

[Bryan]

Switching from W100 (SAE 50) oil to W80 (SAE 40) for the winter months.

[Ned Gravel]

I am with Yves on this issue.  My pre-heat is a bit different but it gives similar results.  I have a Reiff plug in set of heaters on the engine and the oil sump that take no more than one hour to get temps up to close to 60 deg.  

The biggest headache in winter flying is making sure the tie down spot is sufficiently clear to allow the airplane to get pulled out or pushed back.  That can take at least an hour.

[201er]

1 hour ago, Piloto said:

I am applying Rain-X to the wing leading edge to reduce ice accumulation while in-flight.

José 

[Hank]

I kept mine in an unheated hangar, with oil pan heater. The biggest pain was driving out to plug it in the night before, or hanging around the FBO waiting for it to get warm if I didn't do that.

Then I bought a cell switch from the For Sale section and plugged in the heater every time I pushed the plane into the hangar. Calling it to turn on when I knew I was going to fly was easy, and so was calling it to turn off if I didn't [especially when unexpected snow blew in, I didn't have to drive out there to unplug it!].

Some of my neighbors kept drop lights on the floor under the panel, or small ceramic heaters turned low.

Other than that, open the Cabin Heat a little bit, unbutton the coat and fly with gloves on. If only the preflight was a little friendlier . . .

It's all much less of a problem now! 

Edited November 1, 2017 by Hank

[Marauder]

I use a Reiff Turbo XP system which includes higher wattage pan heaters and cylinder headers.

What I didn’t see mention is what you do while on the road (you do go places in the winter right?).

I carry an old quilt for an engine cover, wing and tail covers, an anti-ice solution in a spray bottle, portable space heater and a generator to power everything.

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[steingar]

3 hours ago, Piloto said:

I am applying Rain-X to the wing leading edge to reduce ice accumulation while in-flight. Planning on flying to Pittsburgh this Christmas to see my grandson.

José 

I don't think it will do a blamed bit of good.  Best way to keep ice off your wings is to stay the hell out of it.

 

48 minutes ago, Hank said:

I kept mine in an unheated hangar, with oil pan heater. The biggest pain was driving out to plug it in the night before, or hanging around the FBO waiting for it to get warm if I didn't do that.

Keep your heater plugged in al the time, keep in cowl plugs and wrap the nose in blankets, or at least drape them over the top.  Your engine should stay nice and warm all the time.

[TonyK]

Speaking of cell switches there seems to be a few out there to choose from.  Which is the better one to own?

[gsxrpilot]

Here in Texas with winter coming on, it's finally getting comfortable enough to go fly. The Mooney will now climb at gross weight without blowing the CHT's. And we can actually fly below 10,000 ft.

[Skates97]

57 minutes ago, Marauder said:

I use a Reiff Turbo XP system which includes higher wattage pan heaters and cylinder headers.

What I didn’t see mention is what you do while on the road (you do go places in the winter right?).

I carry an old quilt for an engine cover, wing and tail covers, an anti-ice solution in a spray bottle, portable space heater and a generator to power everything.

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That is my question. Based here out of SoCal I don't worry about it much, nor with flying to Phoenix to visit family. However, there will be some trips north to Utah to visit family this winter and I am wondering what to do there. Contact the FBO to pre-heat it for me?

[N201MKTurbo]

You will be amazed how well your plane will deal with cold weather. Preheating while away from home is always a good thing, but if you don't it will still take you where you want to go.

When I first started flying I was flying almost every day for work. This was out of Denver. The plane was kept out side. Sometimes when it was real cold I would preheat it because it wouldn't start otherwise. I would always try to get it started and if I couldn't I would preheat. It starts to be a problem at -10F I never had any maintenance issues thet I could attribute to starting it cold.

[Marauder]

That is my question. Based here out of SoCal I don't worry about it much, nor with flying to Phoenix to visit family. However, there will be some trips north to Utah to visit family this winter and I am wondering what to do there. Contact the FBO to pre-heat it for me?

If you are planning on flying to an airport, check to see if they have a heated hangar for you to keep the plane in for a period before your departure.

For those of us who live or lived in really cold areas, the issue about whether it will start or not is really not the primary concern. It is the lack of lubrication in those few minutes after you start a cold soak engine that creates the wear. Do it enough times and the issue you will see is not some catastrophic failure, rather you’ll wonder why you are doing an engine rebuild at 1,700 and not the 2,000 you expected to get out of the engine.

Another overlooked area is the gyros. I carry a small ceramic heater that I run for an hour before startup. Again, it won’t manifest itself as an immediate gyro failure, just adds wear that can shorten the life of the gyro.

For those of us living in cold climates, installing heaters and carrying the extra stuff with us makes sense. For those that occasionally visit cold areas, you can seek out a heated hangar while you are visiting.

I pre-heat anytime it gets below 40° (F).




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[N6758N]

Just now, Marauder said:

Another overlooked area is the gyros. I carry a small ceramic heater that I run for an hour before startup. Again, it won’t manifest itself as an immediate gyro failure, just adds wear that can shorten the life of the gyro.
 

 

Huh? Didn't know you had any mechanical gyros prone to wear left in that panel 

[Yetti]

Maybe throw a fleece vest on.  Spend a few more minutes on the run up area to warm up the engine to the first dot.

[TTaylor]

59 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

That is my question. Based here out of SoCal I don't worry about it much, nor with flying to Phoenix to visit family. However, there will be some trips north to Utah to visit family this winter and I am wondering what to do there. Contact the FBO to pre-heat it for me?

Usually the FBO's are good about preheating.  If possible I try to get it into the heated hangar a few hours before flight if you can't keep it in over night.  It is nice to thaw the whole plane out before flight when it is less than 0 F outside.  Let me know if you get back to Logan again.  Tim

[bradp]

Make sure your control surface attach points are well lubricated.  Keeps water from turning to ice.  Especially if you are out and take it in a heated hangar to melt off snow or frost.  

[DXB]

Reiff Turbo XP system is going into my plane right now.  It brings oil and cylinder temps from the 20s into the 60s/40s respectively in an hour. Now it will be ok to show up at the airport in the am and just plug in while I preflight and flight plan.  Also I went with a stronger (B&C) starter - the carb'd planes can be touchy to start cold, causing the starter to take a beating.   Along with a 50ft extension cord and an old sleeping bag, that should cover me in most flyable winter conditions I'm likely to encounter.  I may also have to spring for Marauder 's 'lil generator eventually in order to become fully FBO-independent.   

@Marauder - having a bottle of deice spray on board is a good idea  - what solution do you use?

[Hank]

3 hours ago, Skates97 said:

That is my question. Based here out of SoCal I don't worry about it much, nor with flying to Phoenix to visit family. However, there will be some trips north to Utah to visit family this winter and I am wondering what to do there. Contact the FBO to pre-heat it for me?

I bought a lightweight extension cord. Call ahead and try to park where you can plug in, or arrive early and drag the plane over, plug it in and wait inside. Never bothered with blankets for the cowl, an hour's plug in was always plenty.

[Guest]

Just turned on the hangar heater now that November has arrived.  W80 oil going in with the annual next week.

Clarence