Baby, it's cold out there!

On 31 Jan 2007 15:31:45 -0800, "Jay Honeck" wrote:

Baby, it's COLD out there!

It's been pretty cold in the NE also. Last takeoff was with OAT around 0°F
and -25°C at altitude.

No strut seals to leak in the Mooney, but:

Very stiff elevator trim (well, in the Mooney it really trims the tail).
Got worse in flight.
Cured by re-lubing with cold weather grease. I don't know why that
wasn't done at annual time two months ago.

Very stiff Mixture Control -- that thawed out with flight. I did have the
cable lubed, but if there's water in there, that probably won't work for
long. We'll see.

I used to be able to see my breath in the cabin in these temps. But last
year I added an extra heat muff to the system; and the past few months
we've been tearing things apart and trying to seal up all the holes and
adding insulation. So we were comfortable; although there are still a few
small air leaks to be located and patched.

Oh -- and for the same RPM/MP settings, our TAS was about 7 knots faster;
our climb rate much more spiffy; and our indicated altitude was about 800'
higher than the true altitude (at 8500' indicated).


--ron

It's been pretty cold in the NE also. Last takeoff was with OAT around 0°F
and -25°C at altitude.

I just saw that our HIGH temperatures are going to be below zero over
the weekend. Gosh, I can't wait for that MidAmerican Energy bill next
month! (Heating three 3-story buildings is always an adventure, at
this time of year...)

Very stiff elevator trim (well, in the Mooney it really trims the tail).

Yeah, our electric trim doesn't work at all below about 10 degrees.
After the cabin warms up, it starts to work again, sluggishly.

Very stiff Mixture Control -- that thawed out with flight. I did have the
cable lubed, but if there's water in there, that probably won't work for
long. We'll see.

We used to have that on our Warrior, but never on the Pathfinder. I
don't know why -- probably newer control cables.

I used to be able to see my breath in the cabin in these temps. But last
year I added an extra heat muff to the system; and the past few months
we've been tearing things apart and trying to seal up all the holes and
adding insulation. So we were comfortable; although there are still a few
small air leaks to be located and patched.

Thankfully, Atlas is tight as a drum, and warms up quickly. We fly in
shirtsleeves most of the winter, but you can't sit in shirtsleeves
waiting for heat at these temperatures. After about 20 minutes,
though, we're trying to remove parkas and scarves -- always fun in the
tight quarters of your standard GA cockpit!

Oh -- and for the same RPM/MP settings, our TAS was about 7 knots faster;
our climb rate much more spiffy

Oh, yeah! The performance at this time of year is just fantastic. I
think about climbing out at the end of July -- and now -- and it's
like two entirely different aircraft. Sometimes it feels like we've
got JATO tubes strapped to the fuselage, we're climbing so steeply!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 08:37:36 -0500, Ron Rosenfeld
wrote:

On 31 Jan 2007 15:31:45 -0800, "Jay Honeck" wrote:

Baby, it's COLD out there!

It's been pretty cold in the NE also. Last takeoff was with OAT around 0°F
and -25°C at altitude.

My flight-before-last, it was about 28 degrees F on the ground. Not as cold,
yes, but I fly an open-cockpit airplane. I think I notice it more. :-)

No strut seals to leak in the Mooney, but:

Very stiff elevator trim (well, in the Mooney it really trims the tail).
Got worse in flight.
Cured by re-lubing with cold weather grease. I don't know why that
wasn't done at annual time two months ago.

Very stiff Mixture Control -- that thawed out with flight. I did have the
cable lubed, but if there's water in there, that probably won't work for
long. We'll see.

My elevator trim is very stiff, too, but when you consider it's just a bent
piece of aluminum screwed onto the trailing edge, it's understandable. My
throttle is affected the same way as your mixture, and does free up a bit once
the noisemaker in front warms up.

It did require some care when taxiing out for takeoff, as the (uncontrolled
municipal) airport had about 4" of fresh snow and the plows didn't show up for
another day or so. The pavement was indistinguishable from the grass, and with
a taxiway only 25' wide it took some concentration to keep from running off into
the soft ground. It was actually tougher on the runway...it's a lot wider, but
I didn't have any visual references to how straight I was running. When I came
back to the airport for some touch-and-goes later, I could see the weaving
tracks of my initial takeoff.

I used to be able to see my breath in the cabin in these temps. But last
year I added an extra heat muff to the system; and the past few months
we've been tearing things apart and trying to seal up all the holes and
adding insulation. So we were comfortable; although there are still a few
small air leaks to be located and patched.

When it gets blow freezing, I start wearing a spandex ski mask. The trouble is,
if I pull it up over my mouth, it redirects my breath upward. On the ground,
that causes my goggles to fog. It's OK once we get moving, as the turbulence
behind the windshield tends to push the condensation down.

The mask does inhibit my speaking on the radio (due to its drag on the lips),
but not as bad as NOT having it does. Without the mask, my cheeks and lips get
real stiff, and my articulation goes to heck ("Au-urn traffi, Eye Baby Ate Ower
Ate dow-win for uch-an-go").

Oh -- and for the same RPM/MP settings, our TAS was about 7 knots faster;
our climb rate much more spiffy; and our indicated altitude was about 800'
higher than the true altitude (at 8500' indicated).

Normally, the airport disappears *behind* me as I climb out, but on this day, it
went away *below*. It was like flying an F-16 or something... :-)

Ron Wanttaja

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 07:20:30 -0800, Ron Wanttaja
wrote:

My flight-before-last, it was about 28 degrees F on the ground. Not as cold,
yes, but I fly an open-cockpit airplane. I think I notice it more. :-)

I've been up in a friend's Stearman, but never in weather that cold. I can
only imagine (and I don't want to).
--ron

I flew with a guy in a Stearman in the winter. I was in my Husky. He
wore a full snowmobile suit. And he was still cold. It wasn't THIS
cold though (its 16F here now).

The best solution is a heated vest, the ones you get at the motorcycle
stores.

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 12:50:26 -0500, Ron Rosenfeld
wrote:

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 07:20:30 -0800, Ron Wanttaja
wrote:

My flight-before-last, it was about 28 degrees F on the ground. Not as cold,
yes, but I fly an open-cockpit airplane. I think I notice it more. :-)

I've been up in a friend's Stearman, but never in weather that cold. I can
only imagine (and I don't want to).

I've flown in a Stearman a couple of times (front pit) and I find the cockpit
uncomfortable. There's a TON of draft that I don't get in my (single-seat)
airplane. Might be gaps in the panels up front, might be airflow from the top
wing. One flight was on a ~45 degree day, and I shot some photos of the pilot
back over my shoulder. He looks absolutely miserable....

Here's a shot of me, dressed to fly on a cold day about ten years ago:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/ice5.gif

Here's the airplane. Notice the icicles hanging off the Agwagon in the
background....

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/ice4.gif

Ron Wanttaja

Here's the airplane. Notice the icicles hanging off the Agwagon in the
background....

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/ice4.gif

Okay, now that we know that Ron is certifiably crazy, let's talk about
riding motorcycles in the winter. I saw a college kid riding a Yamaha
this morning, with the temperature right around zero. No face
protection, cheeks bleeding-red, obviously on the verge of death.
Dumber than a box of rocks, God bless him. Hope he made it to class.

Speaking of dumb, Mary and I rode our Goldwing through Yellowstone in
the snow, 19 years ago this year. Nothing like riding with your feet
skimming the icy road like outriggers, hoping that your next turn
isn't your last...

Ah, youth. It's wasted on the young...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Ron Wanttaja wrote:
Here's a shot of me, dressed to fly on a cold day about ten years ago:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/ice5.gif

It's the Blue Baron! Ice blue! Somebody call Allied command and tell them
Snoopy's other arch-enemy is back!

Here's the airplane. Notice the icicles hanging off the Agwagon in the
background....

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/ice4.gif

"With ice on his wings Snoopy knew he was caught."

(When I went to verify the lyrics I found a copy under the U.S. government
website of the "National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences", of
all places:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/snoopys.htm )

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:10:53 -0800, Ron Wanttaja
wrote:

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 12:50:26 -0500, Ron Rosenfeld
wrote:

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 07:20:30 -0800, Ron Wanttaja
wrote:

My flight-before-last, it was about 28 degrees F on the ground. Not as cold,
yes, but I fly an open-cockpit airplane. I think I notice it more. :-)

I've been up in a friend's Stearman, but never in weather that cold. I can
only imagine (and I don't want to).

I've flown in a Stearman a couple of times (front pit) and I find the cockpit
uncomfortable. There's a TON of draft that I don't get in my (single-seat)
airplane. Might be gaps in the panels up front, might be airflow from the top
wing. One flight was on a ~45 degree day, and I shot some photos of the pilot
back over my shoulder. He looks absolutely miserable....

One of our locals has a Baby Great Lakes. It won awards at Sun n' Fun
some years back. He used to fly it year around. Snowmobile suit,
fleece lined leather helmet, and a set of goggles peaking out. Of
course he also wore gloves.

Tougher than I've ever been.

Here's a shot of me, dressed to fly on a cold day about ten years ago:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/ice5.gif

Here's the airplane. Notice the icicles hanging off the Agwagon in the
background....

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/ice4.gif

Ron Wanttaja
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

On Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:09:35 -0500, Roger wrote:

I've flown in a Stearman a couple of times (front pit) and I find the cockpit
uncomfortable. There's a TON of draft that I don't get in my (single-seat)
airplane. Might be gaps in the panels up front, might be airflow from the top
wing. One flight was on a ~45 degree day, and I shot some photos of the pilot
back over my shoulder. He looks absolutely miserable....

One of our locals has a Baby Great Lakes. It won awards at Sun n' Fun
some years back. He used to fly it year around. Snowmobile suit,
fleece lined leather helmet, and a set of goggles peaking out. Of
course he also wore gloves.

Tougher than I've ever been.

About fifteen years ago, an older gentleman came by as I was putting our club
Fly Baby back in the hangar after a flight on a cold day. He told that in his
younger days, he worked on an oil rig and what I needed was one of the insulated
suits like they had. I reassured him as well as I could.

But on my next airport visit, I found a bright-orange insulated suit stuffed
under my cockpit cover. The kind, apparently, that they use on oil rigs.

Sadly, I've never had a need to wear it. I grew up in North Dakota, riding
snowmobiles all day in -20F weather, and Seattle just doesn't come close. I
wear the ski mask under 40 degrees, and long johns when the temp drops below 25.
Those, with my heavy-duty B-3 flying jacket, a scarf, and a good pair of gloves,
is all I need for a typical 1-hour flight when it gets really cold.

But...being from North Dakota in such a temperate climate, pride enters into it,
as well. I *might* be cold, but I darn well ain't gonna admit it in public. If
a part of me freezes and just falls off, I'll claim leprosy.

One can have fun with this. There's a guy at my airport who recently moved to
the area with his small open-cockpit biplane. He's from California. I found
him one 45-degree day, sitting in his airplane with the engine running. Not
going flying, just warming it up. Looking miserable. So I just had to stand
there in the slipstream, with my jacket partially open, wearing my official FAA
work gloves (e.g., hands stuffed in pockets), chatting amiably as he shivered in
his full flying togs.

A couple of years back, my wife gave me a replica B-3 flying jacket. The B-3 is
the true "bomber" jacket...it was designed to protect bomber crewmen standing at
their guns in open windows at 25,000 feet. It's basically the whole outside of
a sheep, turned around so the wool is on the inside.

The first opportunity I had to fly with it was our EAA Chapter's traditional New
Year's Day fly-out brunch at a local airport's cafe. I whipped on my scarf,
climbed into the B-3, and slapped on my leather helmet. No face mask..the temps
hadn't dipped to the '30s.

Back home in ND when I was a kid, forty degrees was a balmy spring day. Here in
the Seattle area, it's parka weather.

I landed at the fly-out airport and started taxiing towards the cafe. I
realized it was *packed*. There were even people outside, waiting in line,
hunched into their thin jackets in the icy wind.

I did what ANY self-respecting Fly Baby jockey would do at a time like this:
Surreptitiously remove the gloves. Unzip the flying jacket partway. Slip the
goggles atop the forehead. And taxi right by that shivering mass, spinning the
tail around towards a parking spot and killing the engine.

I then stood up and unzipped the coat the rest of the way, fanning the flaps
ever so slightly, like it was a tropic afternoon.

The looks on their faces as I walked past to our Chapter's table.... :-)

Ron Wanttaja