wrote:

Since we are well into winter and snow and ice, how are you coping with
it?

I bought a new furnace two years ago. It works real well. Got a few cords of
wood for the fireplace too. :-)

What are you doing to pick out XC checkpoints now that the ground
is covered with snow and everything looks different?

They all look the same to my LORAN.

How are you going
to handle taxiing on slick or ice covered taxiways and runways?

My taildragger is just as skittish on the ground when it's dry.

Have
you ever considered the humps left by snowplows, that freeze and lurk
to get your prop tips or wrinkle nose gears?

Not a problem for me.

Blown snow that can snag
your wing tips as you taxi down the "tunnel" to the runway.....

It would have to be nearly 6' deep to snag mine. So far, I've never flown into a
place with drifts that high.

What
are you doing to pre-heat your engine and cabin (and instruments)?

I have a portable propane heater. It does a good job on the engine. Puts out too
much moisture to use on the cabin (I tried it once).

Are you equipped and prepared for an emergency landing when it may take
hours/days for help to get to you even if they know where you are?

Yep. Got an extensive emergency kit in a "seat locker" hung on my seat. Given
the poor quality of what Maule calls a "heater", I'm always dressed for the
weather.

Do
you know how to prepare for a winter XC in terms of facilities where
you land? Do they have shelter or cover for your aircraft or heat and
snow removal equipment?

So far, yes.

Can you determine how deep the new snow is on a runway and can you make
a soft field landing without disappearing in several feet of snow....if
you are wrong?

Nope. So I haven't tried landing on new snow.

How about flying in light snow showers that suddenly get heavy and you
end up IFR and then hurting for alternate air when the engine air
filter gets clogged by snow.

I don't fly IFR, but my carb heat is also alternate air.

Are you prepared for a slippery runway
with fresh snow? No matter what you do, the airplane just reacts to
gravity and laws of physics while you sit and haplessly flop the
controls around and slide/slip off the runway/taxiway.

Sounds like one of my normal landings. :-)

George Patterson
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.