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De-snowing your Mooney...


ragedracer1977

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15 minutes ago, exM20K said:

Paul, next time, if the forecast has this in store for you, you can wrap the prop, wings, and tail in pallet shrink wrap. Something like this:

https://www.uline.com/Cls_03/Stretch-Wrap

 

easy peasy to peel it off before departure.

-dan

And if the weather lasts too long you can just send the Mooney home UPS

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16 minutes ago, exM20K said:

Paul, next time, if the forecast has this in store for you, you can wrap the prop, wings, and tail in pallet shrink wrap. Something like this:

https://www.uline.com/Cls_03/Stretch-Wrap

 

easy peasy to peel it off before departure.

-dan

That's a neat idea!

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It was bitterly cold on the ramp this morning in Flagstaff. It was 20 degrees with wind gusting to 15 knots. Unlike the day before, this time the wing in the sun was iced over while the wing in the shade was just powder and brushed off easily. 

The RV anti-freeze worked pretty well. But it still took over an hour to make sure the wings and tail were clean and dry. It was way to cold to get the phone out and take pictures.

Eventually we got loaded up and departed for Moab, UT.

IMG_8490.thumb.jpg.bbed10fd5c8285178e35b40a319a5dfd.jpg

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13 hours ago, M20Doc said:

I too would preheat the engine at anything below 40.  It’s pretty tough on everything under the cowl at colder temps.

Clarence

Living in the Montréal, QC area, I personally use 0C (32F) as my preheat minimum temperature. I use Aeroshell 15W50 and was told by my Mx that single grade oil would require using preheat at a warmer temperature.

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4 minutes ago, drapo said:

Living in the Montréal, QC area, I personally use 0C (32F) as my preheat minimum temperature. I use Aeroshell 15W50 and was told by my Mx that single grade oil would require using preheat at a warmer temperature.

Seems there are several of us within 20 min Mooney-time of each other.  We should have a great white north fly in some time.

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4 hours ago, exM20K said:

Paul, next time, if the forecast has this in store for you, you can wrap the prop, wings, and tail in pallet shrink wrap. Something like this:

https://www.uline.com/Cls_03/Stretch-Wrap

 

easy peasy to peel it off before departure.

-dan

When my buddy had 10 gallons taken out of his airplane at a remote field one weekend we figured one security strategy would be to wrap a ton of that stuff around the wing over the fill caps.   At a minimum you'd be able to tell whether anybody had messed with it or not.

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4 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

It was bitterly cold on the ramp this morning in Flagstaff. It was 20 degrees with wind gusting to 15 knots. Unlike the day before, this time the wing in the sun was iced over while the wing in the shade was just powder and brushed off easily. 

The RV anti-freeze worked pretty well. But it still took over an hour to make sure the wings and tail were clean and dry. It was way to cold to get the phone out and take pictures.

Eventually we got loaded up and departed for Moab, UT.

IMG_8490.thumb.jpg.bbed10fd5c8285178e35b40a319a5dfd.jpg

I see your rag was as big as mine.  Lol, the one thing I neglected to get.

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15 hours ago, aviatoreb said:

Seems there are several of us within 20 min Mooney-time of each other.  We should have a great white north fly in some time.

Sure but there’s always the WX and EAPIS slowing our efforts. We should arrange something in the New Year, maybe Sherbrooke or Trois-Rivères on the Canadian side or... I am sure Yves would be there if not downsouth!

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34 minutes ago, drapo said:

Sure but there’s always the WX and EAPIS slowing our efforts. We should arrange something in the New Year, maybe Sherbrooke or Trois-Rivères on the Canadian side or... I am sure Yves would be there if not downsouth!

Even those of us who LIVE "downsouth" enjoy flyin lunches . . . down South!  :lol:

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39 minutes ago, Hank said:

Even those of us who LIVE "downsouth" enjoy flyin lunches . . . down South!  :lol:

Yeah but you're missing all the fun of taking off snow off your Mooney, flying in the calm and dense winter air @-20C, climbing 1,000/fpm @ 140mph and enjoying maple syrup with your breakfast :D

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1 hour ago, drapo said:

Sure but there’s always the WX and EAPIS slowing our efforts. We should arrange something in the New Year, maybe Sherbrooke or Trois-Rivères on the Canadian side or... I am sure Yves would be there if not downsouth!

I think those are both canpass.  I am willing.  :-)  ...but ask Yves..."last time" (a few years ago) I flew to his home airport CRKD to meet him and another pilot from Montreal. And Yves said next time he would come south... 

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5 hours ago, drapo said:

Yeah but you're missing all the fun of taking off snow off your Mooney, flying in the calm and dense winter air @-20C, climbing 1,000/fpm @ 140mph and enjoying maple syrup with your breakfast :D

When I lived in snow country, thankfully I had a hangar. But the climb rate solo at -13°C is great! My first summer back here with my plane, I thought the engine was dying, bur it was just DA, high temps (>32°C, 80+% humidity).

But it's a trade I'll gladly make to never shovel my driveway again.  :lol:

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16 hours ago, aviatoreb said:

It's ok though - Ill come!

Hi folks. Don’t want to hijack the thread...however here is my situation: Came back yesterday from KLAX with Air Canada. Did not have enough days off to do the trip in the Mooney and wife would not want to take the 16-18 hours to get there. Don’t have the border sticker yet for 2019, need to order. One good opportunity to meet would be the ice fly in https://copanational.org/en/2018/01/11/places-to-fly-mos-fly-in/ at the end of february. 3000+ feet runway. If wind is alligned with runway, no problem even for a rocket.

About pre-heat: I always pre-heat when 5C or below. Using W100 all year long. 38000 BTU propane heater has never let me down.

Yves

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On 12/31/2018 at 8:35 AM, yvesg said:

Hi folks. Don’t want to hijack the thread...however here is my situation: Came back yesterday from KLAX with Air Canada. Did not have enough days off to do the trip in the Mooney and wife would not want to take the 16-18 hours to get there. Don’t have the border sticker yet for 2019, need to order. One good opportunity to meet would be the ice fly in https://copanational.org/en/2018/01/11/places-to-fly-mos-fly-in/ at the end of february. 3000+ feet runway. If wind is alligned with runway, no problem even for a rocket.

About pre-heat: I always pre-heat when 5C or below. Using W100 all year long. 38000 BTU propane heater has never let me down.

Yves

I'm sorry but I am kind of a scardy-cat for landing on ice.  Not for the slippery landing on an ice runway reasons - I have landed on pavement completely covered in ice many times.  Its that I am creeped out by frozen surfaces generally. I get really creeped out by walking or skating on ice even when it is proven very thick by drilling with an augur -as my sons do behind my house. I always think I'm going to fall through at any second even though rationally I know I will not.  Call it a phobia even if not an overwhelming one, since yes I do sometimes walk on the ice but rarely even though we live on a river and my sons do drill it to check depth.  Driving or flying onto ice is even worse. I know I can fly to your ice runway when it is properly set but it is very very creepy to me.  So full disclosure, I may come, if I get in a mood to do something that scares me irrationally, but likely I will not. We shall see.  :-)

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17 hours ago, aviatoreb said:

I'm sorry but I am kind of a scardy-cat for landing on ice.  Not for the slippery landing on an ice runway reasons - I have landed on pavement completely covered in ice many times.  Its that I am creeped out by frozen surfaces generally. I get really creeped out by walking or skating on ice even when it is proven very thick by drilling with an augur -as my sons do behind my house. I always think I'm going to fall through at any second even though rationally I know I will not.  Call it a phobia even if not an overwhelming one, since yes I do sometimes walk on the ice but rarely even though we live on a river and my sons do drill it to check depth.  Driving or flying onto ice is even worse. I know I can fly to your ice runway when it is properly set but it is very very creepy to me.  So full disclosure, I may come, if I get in a mood to do something that scares me irrationally, but likely I will not. We shall see.  :-)

I have landed on the frozen river a few times. I did not make it every year because this event happens to fall usually when the Mooney is at annual. I purposely bring it in the 1st of February since this is the worst time of the year weatherwise. I might take it to my mechanic a bit earlier this year since I am planning to be going south near the same date. Let’s get back in touch middle of February... I will know better if I can fly there or not this year. How long would it take you to drive to the Brockville airport? I could pick you up there and take you to the ice fly in in my aircraft.

There could be other opportunities later near the spring when it is not as much a chore to get the airplane in the air. With temps around -20C often during winter... it takes me an hour to prepare and 45 minutes to settle all (wing covers and everything... cannot affort having it sleep inside).

Yves

 

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FBOs out west must suck, really, really hard.  I've never been denied an hour or two in a heated hangar to melt off the snow and ice.  Might not be able to keep it there, but I've always been allowed to thaw out the airplane.  Thankfully its been awhile since I needed the service, but if I do the IR thing this issue will come up more often.  Then again, I suspect I'm going to find myself hesitant to fly into a foul weather airport that doesn't offer transient hangar parking.

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I probably spend to look after my airplane as much as anyone does. But at the same time, it's a tool to get me places I want to go. And it that place doesn't include indoor parking, then she sits out doors. If the space in a hangar is available, it's never been denied me. But it typically costs about $100/night on average. Moab yesterday was $78. 

Any airport in the country can be a foul weather airport on certain days. On this trip around the southwest, we've flown 6 out of 12 days so far. We've only flown on CAVU days, but we've also had to shovel snow off the wings almost every day as well.

All in all, even given it takes me about an hour to clean the plane off for flying, it's been an amazing machine to get us around to see sights there just isn't any other way to see.

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21 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

I probably spend to look after my airplane as much as anyone does. But at the same time, it's a tool to get me places I want to go. And it that place doesn't include indoor parking, then she sits out doors. If the space in a hangar is available, it's never been denied me. But it typically costs about $100/night on average. Moab yesterday was $78. 

Any airport in the country can be a foul weather airport on certain days. On this trip around the southwest, we've flown 6 out of 12 days so far. We've only flown on CAVU days, but we've also had to shovel snow off the wings almost every day as well.

All in all, even given it takes me about an hour to clean the plane off for flying, it's been an amazing machine to get us around to see sights there just isn't any other way to see.

Flying around and spending a few days or even weeks in the elements is still better for it than sitting around gathering dust.... Fly it like you stole it and if something breaks (or sooner) fix it

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