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RV-10 Flying in the Winter Wonderland

ddddsp

Well Known Member
We have been waiting weeks for a few nice days to fly to SteinAir from Nebraska. It seemed like every other day we had been getting snow, fog, ICE, or poor visibility somewhere enroute to KLVN in MN. Finally, saturday morning we had sunshine after 5 inches of fresh snow friday nite and the route was clear to Minnesota. The airport manager plowed the runway at KAUH and cleared the taxiway to our hanger around 12:30 and we were ready to launch at 1:30. The Rieff heater in the O-540 had the oil temps to 60 degrees after being plugged in for 2 hours. Three seconds of primer and the Lycoming came to life on one turn of the prop in 20 degree temps. The Oregon aero seats are a little FIRM at this temp but a few minutes into the flight your warm rear forms a nice comfortable contour. Oil temps warmed nicely as I closed the door to the oil cooler accelerating the process. After all the checks and runup 805HL was ready to go. Starring at a snow/ice packed runway for the first time in a long time, I ran through all the winter weather concerns in my mind along with proper soft field landing technique. Pushing the throttle forward it became obvious quickly this rocket was ready to fly.......wow........what performance you get in these cold temps. The attached pics show what a beautiful site it is to see fresh snow covered terrain............all the way to Minneapolis.
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Climb is incredible in cold air and we settled at 10,500 MSL in just a few minutes. It had been over a month since my last flight and it felt great shedding those NONFLYING blues.
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Flying in warmer climate I can lean the O-540 to about 10-11 GPH at 9-10K MSL and 60-65% power with 3 of 6 cylinders LOP before it starts to run rough. So on this flight I began leaning with the Dynon in Lean Mode and I quickly had 4 cylinders LOP. Soon I had 5 LOP and then ALL 6 cylinders were running LOP. I looked at Co-Pilot/build partner Bruce Bluhm and said get the camera out! You can see the photos attached and the different power settings/temps/GPH/etc. Outside temp was 7-8 degrees F but inside we were flying with no jackets. The heater in the RV10 will blow you out even in below zero flying. We had the heater vents 1/2 to 3/4 open and on the return trip we even opened the cold air vents at times. Total time to KLVN was 2.2 hours with a total fuel burn of 23.6 gallons and an average ground speed of 177 MPH. Stein met us at the airport and put the plane away till we began installing the SL30 the next morning. The nite at Hooters will not be discussed here
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The next morning was COLD/lite snow/poor visibility in more ways then one. Stein got his dose of caffiene and he was ready to do surgery on our radio stack with Jenny assisting. For the next few hours we had to endure listening to Stein continually brag and compliment us on our KMA24 Audio Panel while he wired up the SL30. The radio was installed but weather was still IFR and darkness approaching. It was an easy decision to stay another nite and fly out in the AM.
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The next morning was 27 degrees and sunny.....perfect winter flying. A quick stop at SteinAir for a few supplies and we were off to KLVN. Turn in the rental car, pull the plane out of the hanger, preflight, prime the 540 and turn the key. She fired up immediately.........after a nice takeoff on runway 30 we were off to KHCN a few miles away to top off with fuel. The RV10 does not slow for landing in warm air..........it really does not want to slow or descent in COLD air. After takeoff from KHCN I got to 9500 msl, set up for cruise ( again all 6 cylinders LOP), and turned it over to my Co-pilot. I then began experimenting with the SL30 and the HSI on the Dynon. Wow is this radio amazing. I could not believe I had buried my head in these instruments for 2 hours when we began our descent into KAUH. Getting my IFR with this setup is gonna be a blast. Now to get the written out of the way and start training. The wingtip NAV antenna was pulling in VOR stations from miles away.......at 9500'.
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What a great flight........of course after not flying for a month a flight to KJYR 20 miles away would have been fun. I learned a few things and improved a few skills during this trip you may find useful. First, winter flying in an RV10 is as eventful as summer flying. Next, takeoffs and landings on snow/ice require extra caution but is safe when done properly. Next, what a privilege Experimental builders have with STEIN and SteinAir in there corner.........I believe there is room for his profile on Mt. Rushmore! Finally, If you are building an RV10 and think you will EVER fly IFR.........put the SL30 in from the start. Hope you all have a MERRY Christmas and enjoy several safe Winter Flights.
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One last pic.
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DEAN
 
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RV10 Winter Flying

Pete,

Unsure why they did not post...........they are now showing up!

Merry Christmas
DEAN
 
Thanks Dean

Dean -

Pics look great - sure to keep the riff-raff from the southern tier of states out of God's Country for a few more months!!;)
 
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