FLYING Magazine News Training and Proficiency

How to Handle Winter Flying

A change of season doesn't mean you're grounded.

Wednesday, January 01, 2025 at 09:00 AM ET

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Given an adequate ceiling, visibility, and some instructor creativity, it is possible to continue flight training in the winter months. [Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

Thorough aircraft preparation is essential for winter flying, including engine preheating, battery maintenance, proper defrosting techniques, and verifying heaters, defrosters, and carbon monoxide detectors.
Pilots must be mindful of increased risks and performance changes in cold weather, such as heightened carbon monoxide poisoning danger from cabin heaters, potential hypothermia, and specific cold weather start procedures.
Comprehensive weather planning is critical, requiring expanded briefings to anticipate fast-moving conditions and ensuring pilots have contingency plans for unexpected weather changes or emergencies.

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Living in a latitude farther from the equator may mean more seasonal weather, but it doesn’t mean that you’re grounded. Given an adequate ceiling, visibility, and some instructor creativity, it is possible to continue flight training in the winter months, as long as you are adept at reading and understanding a forecast, and able to recognize potentially hazardous situations.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.