I too am not a fan of the cold! I use to camp during the winter but anymore I just don't like it! In my Champ, with no real heat, I didn't mind the mid 40s on a sunny day. It's probably about the same in the tailwind, it has much better heat, O-320, but I'd rather not be outside in the winter. We're looking at moving south eventually, and/or become snowbirds lol.
James Wells - in OH with a lot of snow.
Some thought to the engine installed: Over the years, small Continental engines could start to run lean in cold temperatures, due to the evaporated fuel mixed with air having to flow up to the intake port on each cylinder.? The tubes could get cold enough to condense out the gas, leaving only a lean fuel-air mix left to run the engine.? A lot depends on the cowling design, etc.? My first engine installation in my W-10 was a Continental O-200, which had no problems due to relatively tight cowling and exhaust pipes nearby.? Here in Pennsylvania I flew it a couple times, no problem down to about 0 degrees?F.? The Lycoming O-320 now installed makes lots of heat inside the cowl, and the intakes tubes are bathed in warm oil. My Taylorcraft with Continenatl A-65 could actually wind way down to near shutoff in high cruise, unless carburetor heat was applied, or I installed a wrap on the intake tubes, restricted the air inlet in the front cowling, and also put a wrap on the oil tank to preserve some heat, or all the above.? Perhaps some thought should also be given to survival in cold temps if an off-airport landing or accident. But usually nowadays I don't care to get cold, with frozen-shut hangar doors, snow removal, cold pre-flight exercises etc., so no longer much of a problem, I go when it is warmer.
On Mon, Jan 6, 2025 at 11:42?AM Tailwind14855 via <Tailwind14855=
[email protected]> wrote:
Two different ways to go for oil temp. Regulate the flow of oil with a fuel shutoff valve connected to a control. Or regulate the flow of air either into or out of the cooler with an airflow valve.?
My cowl flap is stuck in the mid position, no power to servo. As a result my CHT runs a bit high on takeoff and a bit low in cruise. It takes at least 20 minutes to get my oil to 180, even at 50 degrees ambient.?
I really like the cowl flap. Useful even in the hot weather at higher altitudes.
I miss the ski flying even though I don't like the cold.
I flew an open cockpit one of a kind homebuilt at 10F. A short flight, well prepared. I left Syracuse area with the Pitts, 10F for takeoff. Stopped for the night in Jacksonville area, 40F there. The next year I was prepared with snowmobile suit and battery powered electric socks. NO HEAT in the Pitts.
On Monday, January 6, 2025 at 08:27:48 AM MST, Jim Schmidt <
jim47ex@...> wrote:
You guys are way more resilient than I am. 35 to 40 and Sunny are my temps. I only put one heat exchanger on my exhaust sytem when I built my RV6. Food for thought for you Tailwind? builders. If you are going to fly in Winter in the north you? will want more heat. Sun helps a lot with the RV canopy.
-------- Original message --------
Date: 1/6/25 8:02 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [TailwindForum] At what cold weather temp do you stop flying?
Keith,
Interesting that you should post your question today, as the Polar Vortex has just swept into Texas.? Jeri and I spend winters in TX to avoid this cold BS!? It is 24 degrees here in Fredericksburg TX this morning, so I figure most of the native Texans are frozen solid.? Jeri and I finally put our long sleeve shirts on.? Anyway, to the point of your question....
My answer is "it depends".? If I am just wanting to go out flying for fun, I usually use 20 degrees F as my cutoff.? It's not that the airplane really would care, but I just don't enjoy the cold and getting the airplane out and back in just lets heat out of the hangar.? So I just say the heck with it if it is below 20.? However, if I have a "mission" that needs accomplishing, I will just do what I have to do.? The Super Cub has a pretty good heater, at least for the front seat, and if I tape up enough of the cowl inlets I can keep the oil temp up to around 160 or so, so I will do what I need to do.? Haven't had the Tailwind long enough to know if the cabin heat is worth a darn or not, and if I play my cards right I will never have to find out!?
I remember that I had to take a friend to pick up an airplane one time when it was about -20F, but the Piper Pacer I had at the time had an excellent heater so away we went.? He wasn't so warm on the way home in his new-to-him Skybolt though.? But that kind of mission is pretty rare for me, so I doubt I would have much reason to fly if it is that cold outside.? 20 is plenty cold enough for me!
Hope everyone has a great 2025!!
Joe
Hello All,
I am curious as to how cold it gets before you stop flying.? ? I have a really good heater in my plane and I think I have flown it down to about zero F but unless I have a specific mission,? I normally don't fly when it gets below about10 degrees F.? What do you do?? ?This is not really a post about how to start your cold engine or about preheating as I am going to assume we all preheat when it gets cold.? ? It has been cold in Wisconsin the last week or so.? I flew last Thursday and it was about 18 degrees F and all was fine other than oil temps only got to about 160 degrees.? CHTs were around the 300 degree mark.? ?
?
I have contemplated using some blue "painters tape" to partially cover the cowl inlets (would remove after each flight)? but have resisted putting any tape on my cowl.? ?I used to use duct tape on my Tripacer and have flown it to -15 F with no problems.
?
Just curious.? ?Winter flying can be very enjoyable.? Let's all have a great 2025!!
Keith
