AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2020 - 86

P&E

OWNERSHIP

WARMING UP

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Flying during winter is spectacular, with crystal-clear air and maximum aircraft performance on tap. Spectacular, that is, unless your
feet are freezing when it's 20 degrees F on the ramp-or you're
shivering or sweating in the cockpit while ﬂying. Here are some
tips to keep winter ﬂying comfortable and safe.
* Wear layers. When you arrive at the airport, whether you'll be
preﬂighting on the ramp or in a hangar, you'll want to be dressed
appropriately for the cold conditions. Wearing base layer pants
and shirt (the modern, high-tech, lightweight version of thermal
underwear) will help retain your body's natural warmth. Once
toasty warm in the heated airplane, you can shed some outerwear
to keep from overheating. But don't leave the heavy jacket and
boots behind in your car. If you need to make an unscheduled stop
or off-airport landing, you may need all your layers to keep warm.
* Emergency gear. In the unlikely event of a wintertime off-airport
landing, you may need more than the right clothing to survive.
Aircraft often ﬂy over vast expanses of land that is sparsely populated, adding to the time it might take to rescue you. Don't take off
without a fully charged cellphone. Test your ELT regularly to make
sure it will work when you need it. And, consider carrying a personal locator beacon that can help direct search and rescue teams
to within feet of your location.
* Battery-powered warmth. If you plan to ﬂy frequently in cold
weather, you might consider it worthwhile to invest in the luxury
of battery-heated clothing. Widely available for motorcyclists and
snowmobilers, battery-heated socks, jackets, hats, gloves, base
layer pants and shirts, and more are available-and they are amazingly effective. Today's rechargeable batteries can provide heat
for up to 8 hours. Nothing makes winter ﬂying more pleasurable
then never feeling cold for a second, no matter how low the temps.
And, this clothing will make ﬂying an airplane with an inadequate
heater-or no heater-possible.
* Hydration. Winter air is dry and made worse by the plentiful heat you (hopefully) have pumping into the cockpit. This
combination will make you more dehydrated while flying in
winter than during other seasons. Bring along an ample supply
of water to help maintain physical and mental peak condition
while flying as PIC.
-Kollin Stagnito

Go to

aopa.org/ﬁnancemytraining
to apply today.

AOPA's Flexible Aviation Loan can be put
to work right now to get you on your way as
a better trained, more proﬁcient pilot.

Few things are sadder
than the sight of
your airplane parked
on a snow-covered
taxiway with icicles
hanging off the
trailing edges.

preparations for cold-weather ﬂying (see
"Warming Up," above).
If all of this seems like too much trouble,
remember that your airplane was designed
to be flown regularly-cold weather, hot
weather, and everything in between. The
engine needs to be started and operated
for an extended period. Climbing in, starting up, and taxiing around are not enough.
Plan for your frigid ﬂights and you'll extend
your ﬂying proﬁciency. Why should we let
Alaska pilots have all the fun?
AOPA
EMAIL jill.tallman@aopa.org

86 | AOPA PILOT December 2020

http://www.aopa.org/financemytraining

AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2020