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Around The Patch - November 2007

By (USUA #A86096)

It is hard to believe that it is November already. When I looked out the window this morning, the grass was covered with that white coating of frost, and as I sit here writing this month's article, the furnace is humming in the basement. These indicators, and a couple of articles from both the "Lite Wing News" from the Middle Tennessee Ultralight Group and the "Light Sport Flyer" from USUA Club 027, the North Coast flyers, remind us that winter is well on the way. These referenced articles point out that cold weather flying can be lots of fun as the cooler air provides more lift to our airfoils, and its increased density makes our engines run better, developing more power per unit of fuel consumed. It does bring with it, some cautions however, that we need to remember if we do some fun flying during the winter months. If we are planning some early morning jaunts into the bright blue sky, we need to be aware that the frost that I mentioned on my front lawn this morning also can alight on the wings and fuselage of our airplanes. While it does not do much to affect my lawn, it can affect the lifting quality of our wings as it changes the surface and conformation of the specially designed wing that keeps us airborne. All frost must be removed from lifting surfaces before we begin any flight. Remove it with a soft cloth, or wait until the sun has a chance to melt it off naturally.

Another consideration that the cooler weather brings, that is not as much of a factor during the summer, is "shock cooling" of our engines. As an engine heats up its components expand, and as it cools, the same components contract. If the cooling happens too fast, the contractions occur at different rates at different parts of the engine, and could cause seizing, or even cracking of engine parts. Lycoming recommends that engines be cooled down at no faster rate than 50 degrees per minute. How do you accomplish this? Avoid long, idle RPM descents from altitude. Plan your descents to allow for some 'non-idle' running of your engine to keep it from cooling too rapidly.

As an aside, long descents from altitude at idle are never a great idea anyway. We had a Cessna 172 visit a cornfield off the end of runway 28 at Carlisle Business Airport a couple of summers ago when the pilot descended from 10,000, without interruption, in an attempt to land at Carlisle. After extracting the intact airplane from the farmer's field, the engine cranked up just fine, and the muddy, but otherwise undamaged, airplane was flown home without incident. The consensus was that the long idle descent caused the engine to malfunction resulting in a, thankfully, only embarrassing, off airfield landing.

We have briefly considered the affect of cold weather on the airframe and on the engine, but the cold can also affect another important part of any flight - the pilot. Those of us flying open cockpit aircraft will probably be well dressed to deal with the decreased temperatures, but those fortunate enough to have heated, enclosed cockpits can't forget the cooler temperatures either. Warm clothing, and maybe even a thermal blanket stowed somewhere in the airplane, is a winter flying necessity. It would be most 'inconvenient' to complete a flawless off-airfield landing only to freeze to death before help could arrive. In the winter, it is best to plan to spend the night out in some field, and then not have to do so.

For those of us north of the Mason-Dixon line who think that flying in temperatures less than about 65 degrees is something that only polar bears should do, winter still has some things we should not forget. Since, from November to March, the number of days the temperature will be above our cut off point is limited, it is more than likely that our airplanes will not be doing much flying. Preparations for long winter idleness should include draining the fuel to prevent it turning to slimy gum and plugging important openings and nozzles in our fuel delivery system next spring. Many recommend squirting a few drops of oil into the air intake port of the carburetor of a running engine before final shut down, to give the upper parts of cylinders an extra coating of oil to tide them over until spring. A previous "Around the Patch" article (I believe it was April 2007, but check the archives) talked about Berry Glenn's ingenious way of using some discarded medicine containers, a chunk of radiator hose, and some silica gel to keep winter moisture from rusting the guts of hibernating ultralight engines.

There is no way I can close out this month's column without recognizing Bud Jorgenson's article in the "Top Fun Flyers News" from USUA Club 45 in Boise, Idaho. Bud titles his article "Looking Back," and he gives us a wonderful trip down memory lane as he recalls his many years of flying Ultralights and General Aviation aircraft, white water rafting, riding motorcycles and dirt bikes, and sky diving. He's had some close calls (and admits that most of them were caused by 'pilot error'), but laments that his wife finally persuaded him to give up flying, and concentrate on his newly purchased Honda Goldwing. Reading his article, one might think that Bud has engaged in some relatively dangerous activities during his lifetime. Some might even think that he is a major risk taker, and maybe a little bit of an 'adrenaline junkie', and could profit from a trip to the local psychiatrist's office, but we must remember that he made his most recent parachute jump in celebration of his 81st birthday. Way to go, Bud! Keep up the good work, and do what makes you happy. It has worked well thus far.

Bud is also an excellent example of that old aviation saying, "Time spent flying is not counted against your allotted time on earth!"

See you all next month stay warm and think spring.....

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