Tips for Flying on Frigid Cold Winter Days скачать в хорошем качестве

Tips for Flying on Frigid Cold Winter Days

This video provides tips for flying on frigid cold winter days, and includes several of my landings at Alton Bay Ice Runway in the past few years. #aviation #fly This week we have experienced some extreme winter weather, with morning temps starting out at -9 degrees below zero (F), and only getting up into the upper teens at the peak of the day. And winds gusting to over 20Kts. It’s certainly not Alaska winter conditions, but it is definitely cold enough that extra precautions need to be taken when conducting training flights, and just overall flying piston engines in such cold temperatures. Those extra precautions start out with getting a full weather briefing and making a go, no-go decision based on the current and forecasted conditions. Second, from a flight training perspective, even if the weather is deemed doable, you need to asses both as the flight instructor and the student, will the lesson be productive? If the winds are forecasted to be strong and gusty, and with a significant crosswind component, and takeoffs and landings were planned for the flight lesson, will the student be able to actually make any of the landings unassisted. Doubtful. If flight maneuvers outside of the pattern were planned, will performing those flight maneuvers result in seeing any real student improvement. Again, probably not. If it was an instrument flight lesson, and the student was going to be wearing foggles or some other type of view limiting device, do you think they will struggle with staying ahead of the plane and maintaining ATC altitude and heading assignments, while wrestling with a aircraft that is getting rocked by the winds, especially as they are on the instrument approach paths, and approaching the Decision Altitudes or Minimum Descent Altitude. Again, probably not. Moreover, you may end up with a student getting sick in the plane. Another major concern when flying in extremely cold weather is wear and tear on the aircraft’s engine, particularly when starting it. If planning to fly a trainer aircraft like a Piper Warrior or Cessna Skyhawk, the aircraft should have something like a Tanis system installed. Moreover, if possible, the aircraft should be stored in a heated hangar to make pre-flighting more bearable and ensure it is properly and completely done. Not a day or night to take short-cuts on the preflight. Also, if the plane is left outside, but did have a Reiff Preheat or Tanis system installed, and plugged in, it is important to make sure there is no snow, ice or frost on the wings, and tail feathers. Leaving even frost on the wings and tail feathers will most likely result in disaster during takeoff, as the air flowing over the wings will separate early from the wings, even at a shallow angle of attack, causing a wing stall. Another concern when performing certain flight maneuvers in cold weather conditions is carburetor icing and shock cooling the engine. Whenever low power settings are made, carb heat should be turned on to mitigate the risk of ice build-up in the carburetor, even on very cold days. Also shock cooling is a major concern on very cold days, particularly when doing flight maneuvers that require a full reduction in power, such as power off stalls, steep spirals, and emergency descents. It is important on those cold days to make sure the Cylinder Head Temperatures, or CHTs, do not drop too rapidly while performing those maneuvers, for example not more than 50oF cooling per minute. Again, turn on carburetor heat, and periodically add power every minute or so for 10 to 15 seconds, to prevent the cylinder heads from cooling down too much and too fast. Also, instead of bringing power to full idle on those types of maneuvers consider leaving some power in to prevent the cylinders from getting too cold too fast. Lastly, on cold weather day flights, make sure to dress appropriately for an unplanned, off-airport, landing. Also, carry an emergency survival kit in the plane during the winter months, with blankets, flashlights, food, water, and fire starter tools. By taking these types of actions before deciding to fly, and during the flight, if you do make the decision to do so on those frigid cold days, you will help to ensure that both the flight student and yourself will have a productive and safe flight training session. And for those pilots who are just going out for some cold weather flying, hopefully these tips will help to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable flight.