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Seasonal Changes

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Winter brings cooler, denser air, which improves aircraft performance, but pilots must prepare for the seasonal shift.
  • Pilots should inspect and ensure their aircraft's readiness for lower temperatures, including checking engine oil cooler baffles, cabin heating systems, and deicing/anti-icing capabilities.
  • Increased vigilance is required for airborne icing forecasts and the heightened risk of carbon monoxide poisoning due to closed cabin vents, necessitating functional CO detectors with fresh batteries.
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By the time you read this, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere will be well along on our journey from summer to winter. Autumn’s colors and apple cider will have given way to crisper evenings punctuated with the sound of leaf blowers. We’ll all have to dig our sweaters and warm coats out of the closet. Perhaps unlike with any other change of season, pilots need to consider the differences we’ll be facing as the calendar pages fly by.

The good news is the air will be cooler and denser. That will help aircraft performance but also can require tossing a blanket or two in the back seat. More good news is that we’ll get a respite from the typical personal airplane’s lack of air conditioning, which admittedly is more of a problem where I live in Florida than it may be for you.

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