If you’re flying in a part of the country where the TV weather personality uses terms like “wind chill,” “arctic blast” and “polar vortex” you’ll want to modify your winter checklist with a few common-sense items. Warm clothing is a must — you ought to be able to easily walk to safety in the event of a forced landing. Likewise for ice, snow and frost removal from your airplane — and that goes double for ice on control surfaces and in important nooks like the static port and pitot tube.
You might be tempted on a frigid day to speed through your preflight. Just make sure you don’t skip anything important. Look for fuel dye as an indication of fuel leaks, and try to keep the tanks full to keep out moisture. Ice in fuel, by the way, looks like floating dust.
