A Frosty Reminder.....

Louise and I got a little reminder this morning that hangaring an airplane in cold weather is no guarantee that you won't have to worry about frost. We had planned a sunrise take-off from Big Bear Lake this morning and got to our unheated but nicely weather-tight hangar about 20 minutes in advance to pack the airplane and get ready to go. The temperature was below freezing outside, with gentle winds, and a clear sky, but the temp/dew point spread was closer than it had been for several days. The hangar was probably above freezing, as the high temps had been in the 50's for several days.

We pulled the airplane out after preflighting, closed the hangar doors in the gathering dawn, and prepared to strapped in for take-off. As sunrise came, we looked out at the wings as the engine was warming up, and to our surprise, we had frost on all of the surfaces except the fuel tanks. This had formed after pulling the plane out of the hangar. A cleaning session ensued before departure, needless to say....

This is just a safety reminder for those that figure an enclosed hangar can, by itself, ward of the evils of cold weather flying. Check to make sure those wings and tail surfaces are clear before take-off regardless - I know this is second nature for those of us that grew up in the frozen north, - but it might be a surprise for the genteel southern folks visiting colder climes for a little winter adventure!

Paul

Very good point, Paul......

It reminds me of a friend who totalled an Air Tractor 602 on the first frosty takeoff early one February morning near here. With a full hopper of ammonium nitrate, the airplane snap-rolled at about 50' and went in inverted. The crew and his Dad watched in horror but pulled him out with some bruises and a sore neck...yep, the heavy frost was still on the wings!

Thanks,

Woah

Dang that was a close call!

I like snap rolls at about 4000 feet!

Frank

Good reminder Paul. Also more often than not the temperature is the coldest just as the sun rises and can cause dew to form then to freeze on those cold mornings.

Interesting thread

Like Paul, I had a frosty experience here in Kansas City last year.

The weekly Saturday breakfast run continued through the winter weather last year. Some Saturday mornings it would dawn cold and clear and the planes would be pulled out of the hangars ready to go before sunrise. As we took off right at sunrise everything would be just fine. Also, when we landed (after a 15-20 minute flight) the planes would be fine.

But..., when we left the on-field restaurant about an hour later we would often find the wings and elevators covered with frost, in the sunlight. After the first time that happened, I started carrying blankets with me to cover the wings while we were in the restaurant. I didn't want to scrape the frost off the wings with a credit card in the cold. I like my paint too much.

So, there you go...