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Cold Weather Winter Flying Q's
I may have to go to the Regina, SK, CA/Minnesota area this winter for 2
months. First Is Snow How Deep Before Ski's Are Needed? Ware to obtain ski's for a cessna 150? Best Type of Oil Heater? Should One Use a Cowl Warmer? I Notice in the manual something about a winterization Kit Can I install/uninstall it my self? Can you still buy the winterization kit? If so ware is the best place to buy? Any Tips For Landing on Ice And Snow! Any Extra Pre-Flight Inspections Needed For Extreme Cold Weather Any other useful tips for that type of flying gladly accepted. |
#2
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In a previous article, "NW_PILOT" said:
I may have to go to the Regina, SK, CA/Minnesota area this winter for 2 months. First Is Snow How Deep Before Ski's Are Needed? Ware to obtain ski's for a cessna 150? It may surprise you to find out that Saskatchewan has snow plows. Many airports will have clear runways, even in the middle of winter. -- Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/ I treat shops as military objectives to be penetrated and stripped of needed resources in as little time as possible. She has adventures in them. -- Joe Thompson |
#3
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On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 03:59:31 -0800, "NW_PILOT"
wrote: I may have to go to the Regina, SK, CA/Minnesota area this winter for 2 months. First Is Snow How Deep Before Ski's Are Needed? Ware to obtain ski's for a cessna 150? Most airports will be plowed, and you would only require skiis if landing offsite (like on a lake), or if it is snowing so hard that the airport cannot keep up. I have landed my Cherokee in 1-2 inches of snow, and it was fine. Be sure to remove your wheel pants. I have heard that snow can get packed in the pant and either cause damage to the pant, or to the tire. Best Type of Oil Heater? I've used a Red Dragon preheater to start down to 0degF. Be patient, and let it run for a long time (30+ minutes). Definitely use a cowl cover to help keep the heat in the cowling. The best pre-heat is just to keep the plane in a heated hangar. I Notice in the manual something about a winterization Kit Can I install/uninstall it my self? Can you still buy the winterization kit? If so ware is the best place to buy? I don't know about the C150, but for the PA28-180, the oil temp will not get above 125deg without the winterization kit. So it is a must for winter flying. Just be prepared to take it off if you fly South into warmer weather. Any Tips For Landing on Ice And Snow! Make sure your crosswind technique is spotless, and the crosswinds are light. Seriously, landing on ice, or packed snow with a crosswind is not easy. Once the plane gets moving sideways on ice it is difficult to stop the side-motion given the lack of friction between the gear and the runway. This is especially true as the plane slows down and the control surfaces become less effective. Also, taxiing on ice is difficult. Some ramps have a slant to them, and the plane will want to 'fall' off the ramp. One more tip for landing. Bring the plane to a complete stop on the runway, then begin your taxi phase. A lot of pilots have thought they have control of the plane, try to make a taxiway, and then end up in a snowdrift. Taxiways and runways will be lined with snow, possibly several feet deep. As such, wingtip clearance (particularly on lowwings) needs to be watched closely. Stay in the middle of the taxiway/runway and watch those wingtips. Any Extra Pre-Flight Inspections Needed For Extreme Cold Weather Wear warm clothes in the plane, and have extra blankets for passengers. Airplanes tend to be drafty, and when the OAT is below 0 deg F, it gets cold in a hurry. Have a good pair of sunglasses. On a bright sunny day with snow covering the ground, the brightness can be overwhelming. When it is snowing lightly, VFR conditions will often be reported at nearby airports. In flight visibility with snow can be quite low, basically making it an IFR flight. |
#4
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NW_PILOT wrote: Best Type of Oil Heater? Wag-Aero sells a cover kit for the oil tank. It's not a heater, but it will keep the oil warmer when the engine's running. Should One Use a Cowl Warmer? If you intend to be flying somewhere, parking for an hour, and flying again without pre-heat, I would buy an insulated cowl cover. I had a Kennon cover for my 150. I Notice in the manual something about a winterization Kit Can I install/uninstall it my self? Can you still buy the winterization kit? If so ware is the best place to buy? Back in the early 90's, my A&P told me that these were no longer available. He could have been wrong. Check with an authorized Cessna service center. Any Extra Pre-Flight Inspections Needed For Extreme Cold Weather Preheat. If possible, get the heater outlet into the lower part of the cowl. That will heat the oil tank as well as the rest of the engine. Any other useful tips for that type of flying gladly accepted. Keep the revs up - the heater works best near redline. I found that my heater was most effective if I cracked the cabin air knob just a little to increase the air flow. I would definitely wear insulated boots and either long johns or insulated pants. George Patterson If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have been looking for it. |
#5
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NW_PILOT wrote: I may have to go to the Regina, SK, CA/Minnesota area this winter for 2 months. First Is Snow How Deep Before Ski's Are Needed? Depends on the plane and the tires you have. I have landed my 182 in a few inches. Ware to obtain ski's for a cessna 150? That's funny, ski's on a 150. A 150 can barely get out of its own way. Best Type of Oil Heater? You'll need a nose mitten first, no matter what type of heater you get. You only need an oil pan heater. I have two on my 182. I can use one or both at the same time, depending on the OAT. At zero degrees F and both heaters plugged in the oil will be 100F and each cylinder will be 80F. Should One Use a Cowl Warmer? There's no reason to get an electric one, it's an inefficient way to heat. I Notice in the manual something about a winterization Kit Can I install/uninstall it my self? That is a foam insulator that goes over the breather pipe. Get that at your local hardware store. It also is two plates that get mount on the front of the cowl, restricting the airflow. I made mine last year. Found someone who had them and traced a copy for my self. Can you still buy the winterization kit? You might but they're really expensive from Cessna. Just make your own. Any Tips For Landing on Ice And Snow! Snow is fun. You'll make great landings. Ice is easy too. Just don't be trying to stop quick or manuever. Any Extra Pre-Flight Inspections Needed For Extreme Cold Weather Make sure the gas quick drains still work. They'll freeze shut if there's even a hint of water. To heat the interior, if you have electricity available, leave a 60 or 100 watt light bulb turned on on the fllor of the pilots side. The heat will warm the instruments and make the interior a little warmer. |
#6
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My Minnesota thoughts -
1) Preheat only before flying. Do not heat continuously or you will have internal corrosion in the engine cylinders. Inside storage is OK. 2) Preheat long enough to get the oil warm too. Do not just preheat to get the cylinders warm. 3) Don't think you can get by without preheat "just this once" when below about 32 deg F, especially if you have non-winter grade oil. It is really hard on an engine as it takes quite a long time for the crankcase to develop an oil fog if things are too gooey. Scored camshafts and cylinders can be the result. I like semisynthetic oils, although the starter engagement on your 150 may not like the extra lubricity. Engine lube systems are such that the bypassed oil from the relief valve does not have good access to the heat of the cylinders. They then become actually surprisingly slow to warm up - especially if the oil is thick, since most of the oil flow bypasses the engine after a cold startup. Try to cover any oil coolers so that the oil temp eventually warms up to 180 deg F in flight to minimize condensation in the oil. 4) Add small amounts (couple of tablespoons or so) of isopropyl alcohol (yellow can HEET) to the tanks as a matter if principle when it is below freezing. You may otherwise have small amounts of dissolved water in the fuel come out of solution as snow when the fuel is severely chilled. Beware of fuel that has been severely chilled since its last filtering. On a long flight, this snow can block the fuel screens. I know, it happened to me although it was about -20 deg F. I know of others that have had the same problem. Personally I don't like to fly below zero F, as a result of 4), but I know others do it. |
#7
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Snow How Deep Before Ski's Are Needed? In the NE, it doesn't take much more than an inch before you're in trouble. However, very few people use skis. They plow the runway instead. At 7B3 Hampton NH, the plowing is done in a racetrack oval with the east side being the runway and the west side the taxiway. The "infield" is for ski planes if anyone is so equipped. Our problem is more with ice than with snow. Plowing an open space exposes it to sun, and of course you don't salt a grass field, so ice forms and is difficult to get rid of--basically, it takes a good thaw. Landing and taking off aren't the problem; taxiing is, especially on the turns (I learned to switch to left magneto to slow down for the turns) and in the wind (I was blown sideways several feet on one occasion, very nearly into the snowbank). As a matter of policy, the airport here doesn't rent the Cubs when the air temp is below 20F. all the best -- Dan Ford email: (put Cubdriver in subject line) Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com the blog www.danford.net |
#8
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wrote in message om... My Minnesota thoughts - 4) Add small amounts (couple of tablespoons or so) of isopropyl alcohol (yellow can HEET) to the tanks as a matter if principle when it is below freezing. You may otherwise have small amounts of dissolved water in the fuel come out of solution as snow when the fuel is severely chilled. Beware of fuel that has been severely chilled since its last filtering. On a long flight, this snow can block the fuel screens. I know, it happened to me although it was about -20 deg F. I know of others that have had the same problem. What is HEET? Thanks. Mike MU-2 |
#9
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What is HEET? Thanks.
It's basically a small bottle of alcohol that is for sale at every gas station in the Midwest from now through next April. Now it's about 49 cents apiece. When the temperature drops below zero, it'll sell for a buck forty nine... Funny thing is, I see people buying the stuff by the dozen -- yet they won't use ethanol in their cars. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#10
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What is HEET? Thanks.
Automobile gas line deicer. Some say Minnesotans drink the stuff......! Really HEET is not needed here anymore with our mandatory gasahol. Beware there are two versions. Be sure to get deicer only with isopropyl alcohol. Actually to be legal, you should use aviation grade isopropyl alcohol. but I've never seen the stuff. If you are using jet fuel for an MU-2 this doesn't apply. I don't know what they use. Mike MU-2 |
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