Flight Training - January/February 2021 - 36

Now you're
an adult, and
you can do what
you want. You
can go outside in
shorts, flip-flops, and a tank top in
December in the Northeast, and
Mom or Dad is not going to yell at
you. But when flying in the winter,
make Mom or Dad proud. Eschew
the shorts and flip-flops and dress
appropriately, even if the sun is
shining and the ground temperature promises to rise above
freezing.
In Chicago, where temps
regularly stay in the teens in
December and January, they know
a thing or two about cold. " It can
get colder here than the surface
of Mars, " said Rod Rakic, a flight
instructor and aviation consultant.
At Chicago Midway International
Airport (MDW), he said, snow piles
up so high the airport has nowhere
to put it-so they dump it into the
backs of trucks carrying jet engines
" and they vaporize the snow. "
" People ask me all the time, 'Do
you stop flying in the winter?' Absolutely not, " said Rakic. " There are
beautiful days to do flight training.
You've gotta prepare for it. You've
gotta have a sense of humor. "
PREP THE AIRPLANE,
PREP YOURSELF
If you are learning to fly in a colder
climate, your flight instructor has
certainly drilled you on the importance of preparing an airplane.
The control surfaces must be clear
and free of any snow, ice, or frost
so that lift will not be compromised. The oil must be warmed up
even before you start the engine
so that, upon ignition, it can flow
easily and do its job of lubricating
myriad metal parts. Perhaps your
flight school also uses heaters to
protect airplane avionics from
36

FLIGHT TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021

extreme cold. Hopefully, your flight
instructor has warned you against
using an ice scraper or a credit card
to remove frost from an airplane's
windows, because the sharp edges
will scratch the plastic windows.
While you're doing this-warming up the oil, wiping frost off the
leading edges-your normal preflight is prolonged. " You have to be
well prepared to be outside in the
elements to do the job necessary to
preflight, " Rakic said. " If you're not
wearing the appropriate hat and
gloves and coat, you're probably
gonna want to rush the preflight. "
Rakic's rule for preflight wear:
" If you can't walk from the FBO
to the end of the runway and
back without getting cold, you are
underdressed. "
In Grand Forks, North Dakota,
the home of the University of
North Dakota (UND) John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences,
the UND flight department cannot
dispatch aircraft if the temperature
is below freezing unless everyone involved has hats, gloves,
and winter boots. Sarah Staudt, a
graduate of UND's flight program,
remembers those teeth-chattering
days somewhat fondly. " I had three
layers of gloves, " said Staudt, who
is chief flight instructor for the
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Pilot Information Center. She
said she wore " everyday " gloves of
manmade materials, which
provided enough manual
dexterity for such tasks as
checking the oil; over those
she would wear waterproof
ski gloves if she needed to
move aircraft. In her survival
kit she packed sheepskin
mittens lined with wool. " We
were very picky about our
winter gear, " she said.
Sturdy layers of clothing
are also necessary in the

cockpit. Many pilots have been
known to sport street shoes and
pants more appropriate for an
afternoon lounging on the sofa
than an extended time spent in
freezing temperatures. A cockpit
can get very drafty, particularly if
you fly older airplanes; and you
should always dress and choose
footwear for the possibility that
you will be making an off-airport
landing. Rakic calls this " dressing
for the egress, " a concept taught
in Civil Air Patrol operations. Layers are a good idea, particularly
if they incorporate wool and an
underlayer of a moisture-wicking
material.
Then there's the all-important
survival bag. It should include, at
a minimum, first-aid gear, snacks
and water, fire-making tools, extra
warm clothes including socks, and
a personal locator beacon. Staudt
said UND students would throw
the engine blanket in the back
along with the regular survival
gear. The blanket could be used as
another layer of protection against
the cold, and the oil-spotted sections could be used to start a fire.
Staudt would wear a bright-yellow down coat whenever she flew
in the winter. The bright yellow
color meant she would stand out
against the snow if she had to put
the airplane down off airport.
Flight Training - January/February 2021

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