Cold Weather Flying

"Jose Vivanco" writes:

I will be getting an engine cover, but I don't think this alone will
eliminate the battery boost requirements. The battery is two years
old. Normal summer start always looks like the battery is dead,
i.e. one blade goes by and the prop stops turning, ignition back to
off, then crank again and it fires up immediately.

At -10 degC, my PA-28-161 will usually turn over and fire just fine
without preheat (also copper cables), and I'm not sure how old the
battery is. At first I had the heater plugged in for any subzero
temperatures, but now I just do it when it's significantly cold out.

From my relatively inexperienced point of view, I'd suggest having
everything checked -- battery, wiring, starter, primer lines, mags,
etc. -- given that we have similar planes and your summer start is
already suboptimal. It won't be any fun being stuck at a little
country airport in the winter with a plane that won't start.

By the way, my AME showed me a great trick for starting in general,
but one that's especially useful in the winter. Instead of opening
the throttle to get the engine to catch, keep the throttle almost
closed and pump the primer while cranking -- it seems to work much
better, and you don't end up surging the engine at 1200-1500 RPM (or
worse) when everything's still cold.


All the best,


David

C-FBJO at CYOW