Every aircraft owner in a cold and snowy climate must anticipate the multitude of nonflyable days this time of year.
THE NEW OWNER Managing the Doldrums of Winter There are things pilots can do to keep themselves and their aircraft prepared during extended periods of gray.
by Jason McDowell
T here comes a time in every Wisconsin winter when an extended period of gray renders you not only un- able to remember where you put your sunglasses but also to recall when you last needed them at all. Warm, golden sunlight becomes a distant memory and a magical aspiration, viewable only through the window of one’s cellphone while browsing social me- dia feeds. It’s a dismal, dreary time. But on a positive note, the mosquitoes aren’t so bad. This winter, we received about a foot of snow in one shot, followed by a week of subzero temperatures and high winds. That was about a week and a half of non- flyable weather for those of us still building our tailwheel skills. When the winds finally subsided they were replaced with temperatures in the upper 30s…which resulted in 200-foot ceilings and thick fog. We’re going on week two of these con- ditions, and it’s now been a full month since I’ve been able to fly at all. Every aircraft owner in this climate must anticipate conditions and nonfly- ing periods like this. But this is doubly important for relatively new owners like me still learning how to best care for their airplanes and refining fly-
ing skills. Gone are the days of landing the FBO’s rental airplane, tossing the keys to the person at the front desk, and forgetting about it for a few weeks. Now, as the caretaker of an airframe and engine, there are more responsi- bilities to consider. So, as someone new to ownership, what should you consider when facing weeks upon weeks of nonflyable weather? For me, there are two primary areas of focus— the engine’s health and my perishable flying skills. It’s fairly common knowledge that the worst thing you can do to an airplane engine is let it sit unused for long periods. This makes every potential window of flyable weather that much more valuable, considering it might be followed by a month of inactivity. This is why, on my last flight, I pushed my limits a bit and ventured out on an extremely slick runway covered in mud and snow. That flight amounted to only one trip around the pattern. But with a thoroughly preheated and then warmed-up engine, the engine did, in fact, reach normal oper- ating temperature as I was turning downwind. The ensuing sketchy runway con- ditions were bad enough to make me call it a day, but having gotten my engine up to temp, I effectively reset its “sitting on the ground” meter, and I felt better about having to leave it parked for the following weeks..
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